


Misguided Arrows

by Tiggerluvme



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Blood and Violence, Consensual Sex, Death, Dom/sub, Dominance, F/M, Friendship, Loss of Virginity, Marriage, Minor Character Death, OFC - Freeform, Original Character(s), Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Past Character Death, Relationship(s), Sex, Sisters, Submission, Titans, Violence, Virginity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:14:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 95,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23844298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiggerluvme/pseuds/Tiggerluvme
Summary: Life has never been easy for Alise Berg. Years of dealing with people and Titans has caused her to encase her heart in a strong fortress. With life being uncertain, love is a gamble not worth taking. With everything going on and the future looking grim, will she finally listen to her heart and take a risk.
Relationships: Levi/Other(s)
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone and welcome to my first story. To give you a quick heads up, I do plan on making this longer than ten chapters. Throughout this story, I hope to show character progress and to build relationships. I will do my best to keep characters in their roles and not to truly change how some really are. I will warn you that some people will die. While some we may get attached to, know that they will always live on through select character's hearts. Finally, at the start of select chapters, when I bring in a new key character, I will try and give you all a brief description blurb. This is just so that you all can get an idea of how the character looks, everything else will be revealed in the story. I thank you all for reading my story, and any feedback is appreciated.
> 
> Alise Berg
> 
> Age: 29
> 
> Occupation: Soldier (Survey Corps)
> 
> Appearance: Alise has medium dark brown hair and tends to wear her hair up in a tight bun. She has hazel eyes. She stands at 159cm, weighs 63kg, and has an average build. The only areas toned on her are her legs and arms. On her left shoulder she has a scar she received when she was ten years old. She has an above average chest (between a C cup and D cup) and uses wrapping to help make them look as small as possible.
> 
> Xevera Berg
> 
> Age: 31
> 
> Occupation: Captain (Survey Corps)
> 
> Appearance: Xevera has short dark red hair that looks lighter under sunlight. Her eyes are gray. She stands at 168cm, weighs 68kg, and has a mild athletic build. She is notorious for wearing a pair of glasses when she is reading and takes them off for everything else. She has an above average chest (D cup) and tends not to show it off even when out of uniform.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from Shingeki no Kyojin, they all belong to the lovely Hajime Isayama. The only characters I own are the ones I made up. Also, I did not make the image I am using. That image was found online and all rights belong to original designer.

"It is time to wake up."

Alise could feel her bed being kicked, but it did not stir her to move right away. A quick peek told her that the sun was not even up. If the sun felt like sleeping in, what was the point of her being up before it. She was going to be stubborn today, or at least that was what she had told herself. For as long as she could remember, she had told herself that she would defy this morning routine. Time and time again, she found herself giving in and just getting up.

Today she felt a different urge, the power of defiance ran rampant through her body and she was going to listen to it. Xevera could say what she wanted, she was not getting out of this bed. There were rookies sleeping in this same building that could be awoken before her. The thought of that alone caused her to pull the covers over her head.

"As your captain, I am ordering you to wake up."

"I am choosing to defy my sister at this moment."

Alise did not wince when she felt Xevera punch her in the head. Xevera had named that attack her passion punch, but there was no passion behind it. The rookies and the others could believe that load of crap. Alise knew that it was just Xevera being sadistic and childish.

"When you wake up a few rookies, then I will wake up."

There was no need for her to look at her sister to know that Xevera was pouting. She had lived with her long enough to know her every reaction. What Xevera said next caused her to sit up quickly in bed.

"We had some supplies come in the other night and a few of the rookies may have messed up your organized sections."

It was a well-known fact throughout this squad that Alise liked things to be in order. Xevera acts of cruelty tended to end with her just using her passion punch. While Alise, on the other hand, tended to toss her teammates out of the window. Order was important because it allowed her to locate things quickly and be able to tell what was missing. Without order there was just chaos and chaos left unchecked could ruin a lot of things.

She saw no point in speaking with her sister as she made her way down to the supply room. The area around her was slowly turning red and as she forced open the supply room door, she froze. Everything was as it was left. There was minor dust here and there, but all the supplies were still neatly stacked and in their proper place. She had been tricked and Xevera laughter confirmed that.

"That is the seventh time I got with you."

"Why am I up this early again?"

"As second-in-command it is your responsibility to make sure the squad is up and prepared for today. We are going outside the Walls again and I expect everyone to be ready upon my return."

Alise did not blink when Xevera ruffled her hair. Instead of moving right away, she watched as Xevera walked through the door. It always amazed her at how the sun tended to give life to her sister's red hair. Once her sister was out sight, Alise moved to get ready for the day. There was no point in shouting orders when she was not even ready.

Unlike her need to keep certain things in order, Alise did not stress over everything. Her uniform was always neat and clean. If she wanted she could have everything line up perfectly, but that would have been unnecessary. With all the moving she was going to be doing, her clothing would surely get messed up. When dealing with Titans, it was best if one's mind focused solely on them and nothing else.

"Get a move on it! Anyone that is not ready when Captain Xevera returns will be thrown out the second-floor window. I can promise you, I will not aim for the tree this time."

While she spoke soft some days, whenever she handed out orders, her tone became louder and colder. The rookies had learned not to cross her and the older members new the drill. The once quiet halls were filled with noise and even some laughter. Alise did not mind any of it, instead she gathered her supplies and got herself ready for the day. There was no telling how long they were going to be gone for and she really did not care. As long as Xevera was around, everything would be just fine.

The weather outside was refreshing, it was not too hot, and it was not too warm. This was perfect hunting weather. Unlike Squad Levi, their squad was not assigned to do all the killing. It would have been nice to be on a squad like that, but there was no way she was taking orders from Levi. Xevera was an odd woman. She enjoyed killing Titans as well as studying them. Her need to study them was different than Hange. She did not go about studying them by trying to keep them alive. Xevera was notorious for studying Titans from a distance and then cutting them down. Her notes tended to be brief and to the point. Xevera's discoveries would spark Hange's interest, but the two would always argue when Hange found out that Xevera had the Titan killed. Their relationship was comical to some degree.

Learning about Titans was not their primary objective. For the most part they were tasked with going ahead of everyone and scouting the area. Despite what Xevera liked to say, she knew that Commander Erwin liked to use them as bait. They were not ordinary bait and most of them tended to come back alive compared to the other squads. The fact still remained that they suffered a high loss the last time they left the Walls. Alise was not going to allow herself to remember, it was best to just suppress it.

Alise turned her attention towards the group of rookies that were lined up by their horses. It was her responsibility as second-in-command to make sure everyone was ready. Their attire had to be clean and they could not show any fear. Fear was expected, and she was not real harsh on the rookies. After all, death was just a heartbeat away.

"I know for five of you, that this will be your first time out of the Walls. I sense the fear on you all and try as you might, you are doing a terrible job at hiding it. I am not hear to promise you anything good. The only thing I can promise you is that one of you is going to die. That is if we are lucky. Then again we all could die."

Alise could not help but to chuckle at her own realization. Death was the only thing that could be promised to these rookies.

"You all are more than welcome to prove me wrong. Each of you has a reason for joining the Survey Corps. It could be because you are suicidal or maybe you want humanity to finally get a victory. Whatever that reason is, pull it close to you and use it when you face a Titan. If you lose sight of your goal, then you will be Titan fodder."

The sound of a horse approaching caused Alise to turn and face her sister.

"We leave now!"

Alise nodded at her sister's words and quickly climbed onto her horse. It always felt weird riding through the town and having people look at them. She could hear the comments that some people made. While some were nice, others made her want to punch people in the face. Some of the people in town had nicknamed their squad the Grim Squad. It was not the personality of the squad, but the fact that a lot of people tended to die under her sister's command. There was nothing Xevera could do to change that. Despite it all, Xevera always held her head up high.

When their squad started to merge in with the others, Alise followed after Xevera when she noticed where her sister was going. It was nice to hear Hange's voice, but she was not pleased to see Levi. She hated that her sister compared her organizational habits to Levi's obsessive need for cleanliness. A little dust did not bother her, and she was certain a speck of dust would just kill Levi. While her sister talked, she found herself glaring at Levi all the way out of the Walls. She only stopped glaring when Xevera returned to her side.

"If you keep looking at him like that, someone is going to think that you like him."

It was an outlandish comment and it left Alise turning slightly red from anger. A person had to be out of their mind to fall for him.

"What is there to like about him. It is not like I am looking at his hair or the dark circle under his eye. His body does nothing for me and his personality is awful."

"So you have been observing him."

"These are easy observational remarks. Anyone with eyes could see what I just said."

"Those people tend to have spoken to him more than six times."

"It was eight times and my observations sealed in that he is not my type."

"Whatever you say Alise. Anyway, gather the squad it is time we break away from the others."

They never got to stay in the group for long. That was just the perks of being bait. Whenever they left the walls, they tended to be in the front. On the way back, the held up the rear. Anyone that thought they were not bait on this squad was just plain stupid. She was sure that a few people probably cursed their luck when they found out they were joining the Grim Squad. The way she saw it, everyone was bait, this squad was just the prime cut bait. When they reached the parting marker, Alise let out a distinct whistle and their squad pulled further ahead.

Xevera had her squad broken down into teams of two. They were always spread out to get a better view of the area. Xevera had stolen the idea from their long-distance formation and it tended to help. Signals told Commander Erwin where he needed to go. When it was time to fight one signal would be fired while the rest of them were allowed to run away.

Alise kept her eyes peeled for the red signal. Someone was going to have to spot a Titan soon and she hoped it was not going to be her. Xevera had assigned her to work with a rookie and rookies always made mistakes. They had not even spotted a Titan and the female's hand was already trembling.

"Maya, steady your nerves."

No sooner had the words left her mouth two red flares went off. That was a first time for that, but she was not pressed. Both the Titans were spotted on the left side, so therefore Commander Erwin needed to avoid that area. Spotting them was not the squad's primary objective. If any more flares went off then they would have to be bait. As she passed by a broken down house with Maya, she noticed a 5m Pure Titan. While it was small, it was still a threat in her eyes.

"Warn the others."

Shooting a flare was not hard. Maya was fumbling and when the gun dropped from her hand, Alise made a disapproving sound. She did not bother to yell at Maya, instead she fired the red flare. Three flares had gone off, two more flares meant that they would have to engage.

Alise counted the flares off in her head. Just as the fifth one went off, a sudden one on the right caused her heard to turn. A black flare was never a good sign. They knew where Commander Erwin and the others were. With that knowledge in mind Xevera's bait plan was put into motion. There was a town not too far ahead and it would give them a chance to use their ODM gear. Before she could reach the town, Alise had to deal with the Titan chasing after them.

"Reach the town and put your gear to work. Remember what I said earlier."

Without giving Maya much warning, she pulled the trigger and found herself moving away from Maya. The look on her face was priceless, but there was nothing Alise could do to help her. Instead her attention turned towards the Titan chasing them. It was a male with rather large eyes and an oddly shaped head. It would have been trouble for a rookie, but Alise was not worried. Normally she would have allowed it to chase after the rookie for a few more yards. With everything that was going on, it was best to just eliminate the threat now and reach the town. Alise turned quickly and in a blink of an eye she had cut out the piece needed from the nape of the Titan.

There was no point in watching the Titan die. She had a rookie that needed her protection and a squad that needed her assistance. Thankfully her horse had not gone too far and as she rode into town, she found herself pausing. Emerging at a rather fast speed was an Abnormal Titan. It was not the Titan that caught her attention. Her eyes moved towards her sister as she broke away from the town and challenged the Titan head on. A responsible scout would have continued onward into the town, but she was not responsible. Xevera's life meant more to her and she was not going to let her die.

"Shock and awe!"

Alise hollered out the order when she was certain Xevera could hear her. It was an attack the two had come up with when they first joined. One of them was to be the bait, while the other attacked. While the attacker got the glory of the kill, it was the person that was the bait that got to do all the bragging later. A person had to be fast if they wanted to stand chance. While she had hoped she could be the bait, Xevera had beat her to it.

"It was my turn to be the bait! You can be so selfish."

Alise mumbled the last bit to herself and used her ODM gear once more. Instead of targeting a tree, Alise went right for the back of the Titan. Its height allowed her to use it as if it was a tree and it made attacking a bit easier. The only hard part was turning in time to slice the Titan. As the Titan feel to the ground, Alise landed on the ground and placed her blades away. She was going to whistle for her horse when Xevera suddenly snatched her up.

"We don't have time to waste. Commander Erwin is going to need us for later on. Which means that we need to save as many of our men as possible."

Going out this early in the mission was unacceptable in anyone's book. The least amounts of deaths at the start meant that they had better chances later on. As they passed by the first building, Alise used her ODM gear to go towards where she had left Maya. She could see Maya ahead of her, but Maya was not attacking. The poor girl was terror stricken and looked to be on the run. Only a few feet behind her was another Pure Titan. He was 6m tall and she did not bother to study his body. Maya had gone to turn, only for the Titan to snatch her out of the air.

Why people begged with any Titan was beyond her knowledge. No matter how many times a person said no, a Titan was not going to stop. No words would make a Titan stop. Killing a Titan was the only way to stop them. If Maya had done her job, she would not have been in that predicament. If Alise was harsh, she could have allowed her to die, but that was unacceptable. Even if they were labeled as bait, Maya was still a living human. Anything that lived deserved to be saved.

Just as the Titan went to bite down, Alise sliced into it. She landed on a roof and was about to say something when out of the corner of her eye, a Titan's action caused her to stop. She had no idea where the Titan had come from, but it was clear it leapt from the ground. In between its hand was a screaming man and then there was nothing but blood. Alise had not even gotten a chance to use her gear when the Titan bite down.

"No more."

It was hard to say if the sudden death triggered her or if Maya's actions had played a part. The only thing Alise knew was that she was on a war path. She did not want to see anyone else die. While she did care for the members in her squad, her feelings for them had not fueled her. It was the name calling from the people in town that bothered her. Xevera was a caring person and these people had given her a bad name. If anyone else died, the name calling would only get worse. Alise was not going to have her sister break any more bad news. Bad news could come later on in the mission, right now was an unacceptable start. If she could just kill all of these Titans, then something good was sure to come of it.

Alise had no idea how many Titans she had killed. All she knew was that they had suddenly stopped coming. She doubted she had killed them all and only dared to look up from her last kill when Xevera said something.

"All the Titans that followed us are dead. Levi and the others gave us a helping hand."

"I suppose they did not want their bait to die this early."

"Commander Erwin is a mysterious guy. If he would have told them to stay away, I am sure Levi would not have lost someone in his squad."

"I don't care about his squad, how many of ours died?"

"Just four people. Only one of them was not a rookie."

"I am going to train them harder when we get back."

"It is a good notion, but that is if there are any rookies left."

Alise turned to watch her sister leave. Xevera brought up a good point. Even the ones that had been out of the Walls more than once, were still rookies to her. Anyone that made it back was going to be pushed harder than before. With the rate things were going she was certain the people in town would label them as the Fodder Squad. The thought alone caused her to growl, but she did not stand and think on the matter. She needed new steel and more gas. More land lay ahead of them and she was ready to spill more Titan blood.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tanith Winget
> 
> Age: 30
> 
> Occupation: Soldier (Garrison)
> 
> Appearance: Tanith has black hair that she keeps done in a pixie cut. She has light brown eyes. She stands at 172 cm, weighs 72kg, and has a mild athletic build. She wears silver glasses all of the time. She has an average chest size (B cup).
> 
> Maya
> 
> Age: 20
> 
> Occupation: Soldier (Survey Corps)
> 
> Appearance: Maya has short light brown hair. She has green eyes. She stands at 160cm, weighs 58kg, and has a slender body. She has a light scar on the back of side of her neck. She has a below average chest size.

Titans had potentially breached Wall Rose.

Those were the only words racing through Alise's mind as she urged her horse to go faster. She could only go so fast without breaking their order and it annoyed her. Even on their way back they still had an order to stick to. Her squad was at the back, while the others were going to get to the action first.

Slaying the Titans was not at the top of Alise's list. She still wanted to kill a lot of them, but there were a few people inside the new danger zone that she cared about. Most of the people that she had trained with were assigned to the Garrison. While the Garrison did not go outside of the Walls, it was their responsibility to protect the Walls. Unlike the Military Police Brigade, the Garrison could only comfort themselves with a false sense of security. When Wall Maria fell, the Garrison lost a lot of their members. It was nothing compared to how many the Survey Corps tended to lose, but it was still a high amount. Alise refused to let any more Titans cause that kind of damage.

"I am sure she will be okay."

Xevera spoke the words rather calmly, but they had no effect on her. Xevera knew that the main person Alise cared about was not someone she had trained with, but someone she had grown up with. Tanith Winget had started off as being a pain in her side and then later she became more like a sister. Tanith had gotten them out of a lot of trouble, but at the same time she was the reason they got into trouble. She was the slowest runner between the three of them and she threw a lousy punch. It was Tanith's personality that had won Alise over. While Alise had joined the Survey Corps, Tanith had been told to join the Garrison. The Survey Corps was too dangerous for someone like Tanith. If she was going to live, the Walls were her best chance.

As Alise pressed onwards, she could not help but feel that maybe they should have allowed Tanith to join them. If she was with them, then they would not have to worry about anything happening to her. She would have been protected and they would have ensured that no Titan touched her. Anything at this point would have been better than riding into an uncertainty.

"When we reach the Wall, I am going to head East, and you are to go West with a few people."

"You know we would have been there if Levi had just gone along with Commander Erwin's order."

"No one is to blame. You are speaking as if we have lost already. The tide is about to turn, you just make sure your steel is ready."

Alise looked over at her sister's smiling face and rolled her eyes. How Xevera managed to ignore the negative factors in life, always amazed her. Xevera was right, they had not lost yet. Even though she did not know where Tanith was, she was going to act as if her friend was still alive.

The moment they reached the Wall, Alise did as she had been order. In her group she noticed that Maya was still with her along with another one of the rookies and two seasoned members. Unlike before, she was not going to be looking out for them as much. Her squad was supposed to be her responsibility, but the last she checked Xevera was the captain. Since Xevera was the captain, she had a right to change up her priorities.

"I won't be coming to your rescue this time Maya. Same goes for everyone else. If you want to live then you need to fight. When you don't fight, you cost someone else their life along with yours. Now break up and slaughter everything in sight."

It was something about soaring through the air that made her feel slightly invincible. Like a fly she could be swatted away or crushed. Alise did not view herself as some disposable insect, instead she saw herself as some kind of bird. Her steel was her talon and the Titans were her prey. The moment she cleared the Wall, she took down her first Titan and then began going for her next victim.

No one could ignore the dead bodies or the crushed buildings around them. Sometimes it made landing a bit tricky and other times it helped out. She was not here to destroy all Titans, even though she wanted to. Alise's objective was to search and secure, nothing more. With the number of Titans in the Wall, there was no way they could do anything else. She kept her eyes open and continued heading in the direction that she knew Tanith worked.

Just as she had turned to head in another direction, in the distance she heard both a scream and saw a person moving at high speed. The scream was unique in its own way. It was squeaky and slightly ear piercing. She heard the scream throughout her life and knew the source without even looking at the person. With the screaming being in the opposite direction, Alise had to quickly turn and rush back.

Hold on just a little while longer.

Tanith was changing up her angles and went from dropping low to soaring high. Her movement was making it hard for the Titan to catch her. From the way that she was moving, Alise could tell that she was using up too much gas. In order to secure her target, Alise decided to aim for the leg of the Titan. It was a bit tricky, but when she felt comfortable she started moving upwards quickly. The minor slashes she dealt did nothing to deter its movement. The only time it stopped was when Alise attacked its nape. As the Titan dropped, Alise soared towards the rooftop that Tanith was standing on.

"You stay down, you unwanted freak of nature."

Tanith pushed her glasses up as she spoke and then quickly hugged Alise.

"I was so scared. All my steel is broken, and that Titan cut me off before I could reach the Wall. I thought I was going to be a goner for sure. There is only so much a person can do with low gas."

Alise pulled Tanith off of her slowly and began looking around.

"We don't have time for this. Tell me what is going on, so I know what I am doing."

Before Tanith could speak, Xevera shot by them and perched herself on the side of a building.

"You two, get a move on it. We are being told to get to the Wall."

"It is good seeing you to, Xevera. I will fill you all in when we get to safety."

Alise looked towards their destination and shook her head. Safety was a nice distance away, and they were going to be pressing it since Tanith was low on gas. As she went to make a recommendation, Tanith suddenly took off.

"Since I don't have any weapons, I am going to be bait. No matter, as bait, I get to brag better than you two."

Alise took off after Tanith but kept a safe distance for just in case she needed to attack. As they pressed onwards, Alise spoke to Xevera in a low voice.

"Do you think we should tell her that she was made bait because of her speed."

"Nah that will only crush her spirits. Best to let her think that she is actually doing something beneficial."

Xevera knew what was best and whenever they encountered Titans, the two would switch between attacking. Ahead of them Tanith's laughter could be heard. It was amusing to think that Tanith honestly thought that she was doing something. Alise supposed that staying alive was doing something after all. When the trio finally reached the safety of the Wall, Alise motioned for Tanith to start talking.

"Commander Pixis put a plan in order to make sure that places like Trost did not get overrun. After all, we already lost one Wall to the Titans, no need in giving them another. Word around here has been that there is a human that can change into a Titan. I would not have believed it, but I saw it with my own eyes. It was so amazing. You should have seen the way that little squirt turned into a Titan. He was huge and he even carried a bolder."

"Get to the point Tanith."

Alise hated when Tanith got off point. Even though she was still giving them details, she could tell Tanith was about to venture off.

"Alright, no need to be so critical. Anyway, Pixis said that this Titan would seal the hole for us and he did. We actually won a battle against the Titans; can you believe that!"

Alise looked back on the Trost District and found it hard to feel any type of excitement. Unlike Titans, human bodies did not just go away. Blood stained the buildings and the ground. While there was excessive blood in some places, crushed bodies were close at hand. Cleaning up this area was not going to be any fun. Cleaning was going to have to wait until all of the Titans were killed. It was going to be easier to deal with them now, especially since they had no were to go and no other Titans would be coming to their aid.

"Forgive me for not joining in on the celebration. There is a lot of work that needs to be done and Xevera we need to gather up the squad."

As the words left her mouth and messenger came over and whispered something into Xevera's ears. Xevera nodded her head approvingly and then looked towards Alise.

"Commander Erwin has requested my presence. I will leave getting the troops and everything up to you."

Xevera would fill her in on the details later. For now, Alise allowed herself to think about what she was going to do to the squad. Their main housing area was within Wall Rose, which meant they would have to use a temporary place.

"Tanith, as nice as it has been, I need to get back to work. We will play catch up when everything has calmed down."

"I purchased a new tea flavor and I have been itching to share it with you."

Alise nodded her head and began rounding up their squad. Thankfully it looked like they did not lose anyone. If they would have gotten her sooner, she was certain a few more people would have died. Maybe it was a good thing that Levi had held them back for a few minutes. She was not going to tell him that ever. Being grateful to him was out of the question.

When all of the squad was gathered outside of their new place, Alise began to access the damages. Two of their squad members had been taken to the infirmary. One suffered a broken arm while the other had a broken nose. The broken arm was clearly going to be useless, but a broken nose never killed anyone.

"Your performance today was acceptable. You should be happy that you are alive, but the night is not over. Tonight we will be going back out for more training. I will not stand for any complaints. The Garrison will need help killing Titans and night time is the best time for that. If you die, it is because of your own mistakes. Now go and relax, we will leave when the moon is at its highest."

Relaxing was the last thing that crossed Alise's mind. This place was filthy and in need of cleaning. She did not order anyone to help her out, instead she worked alone. Cleaning was helping her clear her mind. While she worked, she wondered if this was how Levi felt. Then again, she did not care. Why did it matter what the neat freak thought? He was obsessive, and she was only cleaning because it was required. There was no way she was going to sleep in such a filthy place. After she cleaned, then she would be able to organize the furniture.

Everything was slowly starting to come together when her sister walked into their new place. She heard Xevera's chuckling but did not bother to say anything.

"I think you would be a perfect match for Levi."

"How is Misun doing?"

"He is alive and well. Besides you and I both know he may never see a Titan, along with the rest of that group. I would like to point out that what you tried was a terrible topic changer."

As Xevera talked, she mindless moved one of Alise's cleaning rags. The slight movement did not go unnoticed by Alise. Saying something to Xevera would do nothing but make the situation worse. Without saying a single word, Alise moved the rag back to its proper place.

"Does it really bother you that much?"

"I have it so that it is in reach. When you move it that way, I would have grabbed the cleaning rag I used for the floor instead of for dusting."

"They are both rags though."

"Let's say that I was to use that rag on a table. Do you really want to eat where you walked?"

"Does not really matter, as long as it is clean."

Alise just stared at her sister. She had no words for her. The idea of eating off of something like that was gross. While she could have debated the matter, Alise resumed cleaning the area around them. After she was done cleaning the kitchen, they would have to fetch supplies and then she could organize things once more.

"Besides wanting to talk about Levi, is there something else you want to share."

"Share?"

"In regards to the meeting or is that something only captains should know."

"I trust you enough to share with you. Tanith was right about the human that could turn into a Titan. His name is Eren Yeager and I am going to study him with Hange later on. Commander Erwin has come up with a plan. If it all works out, Levi will be in charge of him. Having him around will benefit humanity and even the Survey Corps."

"It still sounds dangerous. How do you know that he can be trusted? Titans do chow down on us for fun. If it was for nourishment there would not be globs of Titan vomit for us to go through."

"Trust is a funny word. To be honest can we really trust humans. If you want to say that humans can be trusted faster than Titans, then I won't argue that. Eren is a human so therefore we should be able to trust him. On top of that, two people stood up to him. He sealed the hole in the Wall and brought us our first victory. In regards of trust, the facts say that he can be trusted. I am going to stick with the facts. What about you?"

"You said he was going to be under Levi. Last I checked it is not my problem. Trust is something I am not going to go rushing to develop with him. If it backfires it is on Levi and Commander Erwin."

"Like you said, if it backfires. Who knows, it may just work in our favor. Enough talk about Eren, where is my squad?"

"The squad is resting. Those that are in good health will be going out with me to help clean up the remaining Titans."

"Willing to sacrifice more of my squad."

"Not sacrificing, if they die, it is their fault. Titans at night are completely different, which puts the odds on our side."

"Be that as it may be, I don't want any of them to die during this training. If you are going to take them out, know that their lives are in your hands. Now if you don't mind, I need to take a nap."

When weren't people lives in her hand. While that fact was true, Xevera never placed as much stress on the matter before. Alise had no plans on changing her orders which meant she was going to have to come up with a strategy. She was going to have to better them and make sure no one slipped up. While she thought over her strategy, Alise resumed cleaning the area around her.

Night approached rather quickly. As Alise looked down on the Titans from the wall, she tuned out the sounds of the cannons around her. During her time cleaning she had come up with the perfect strategy. There squad was down to six members and she was going to take them in groups of two. While she was not going to engage with the teams, she was going to make sure none of them got hurt. To ensure that her night went a bit smoother, she had placed Maya in the first group.

"Team One, you must kill four Titans before I allow any of you to go back to safety. If any of you try to escape before that, I will knock you down. Now go!"

Maya was the last to leave the Wall and when the team was a nice distance ahead, Alise took off. While Titans were not as active, they were still a threat. Tonight's activity was not about engaging Titans, it was all about conquering their own fears. The team was doing well, but on the third kill, Maya had yet to engage.

"You two pull back. Maya what is going on?"

"I cannot do it. Every time I go to strike, I just freeze up."

"I am to assume then that you want to die."

"I don't want to die. I just cannot."

"Titans are scary creatures and this is different than cutting into a piece of meat on a none moving target. If you expect me to show you any form of sympathy, then you are wrong. We kill Titans to increase humanity's chances. We kill Titans because that is what we signed up to do. More importantly we kill Titans because it makes our captain look good."

"We are bait. They assigned us to this squad because we suck. No one cares about us. We are disposable and nothing more. When you die and the captain dies, they are not going to lose any sleep. This is all just pointless."

Alise was known to act violently, but the worst thing that she had done was toss a person out of a window. There were a few other instances, but those were minor in her eyes. When Maya finished her rant, Alise did not grab her and throw her off of the roof. Instead she slapped Maya.

"Your captain cares about you. While the others may look at us as bait, she still sees that you all are humans. She is the reason I have been trailing you guys. If it was my choice, I would have had all of you down here working your butts off. To ensure that none of you died, I broke you all up into teams. Never say no one cares about you. Why does it matter what others outside of this squad think? Your squad is your second family and what your family thinks is all that matters. As a family member, I am going to tell you right now, you are terrible. I said it before, your actions don't just determine your fate. Earlier when you ran away, I came to aid you. Since I had to help you, I left other areas open. I could have saved a person from dying today. I didn't get that opportunity because I was helping you out. You killed people today, not the Titans. Now I am going to ask you, are you going to finally face your fears or not?"

Maya looked down at her steel for a while. Her hands were still trembling, but she had started to nod her head.

"I am going to fight."

"You two, head back to the Wall. Maya you are with me."

Once the two had left, Alise guided Maya in the direction of a 5m Titan. It was a decent size for Maya to start with, and yet Maya was still hesitating.

"I am going to tell you this now. Either you show me that you are going to fight, or I am going to personally feed you to one of these Titans."

"You wouldn't dare."

"A coward is like a murder in my eyes. You already killed today, and we need our squad. If you are not going to pull your weight, then prepare to die."

Alise took a step towards Maya, only to watch as the female turned towards the Titan. Alise did not bother to chase after her, instead she stood and watched. Maya's first attempts were not the greatest. When her courage finally built up, she managed to take down the Titan.

"You did it."

"I just found something scarier than Titans to fear."

Alise could not help but to chuckle. She did not care how Maya felt, just as long as she was going to fight. After patting Maya on the shoulder, Alise lead her back to the Wall. The last squad did not take as long as the first squad. Once their task was complete, she allowed them to return to their temporary base. While the others spoke about their training, Alise paused when she noticed Levi and Hange sitting at the table with her sister.


	3. Chapter 3

"I was wondering when you were going to get back in. Can you make us some tea?"

Added to the list of qualities that Xevera lacked was cooking. Her sister was clearly not meant to be a house wife. She hated cleaning, organizing, and cooking. Xevera could make a cup of tea like anyone else, but she refused to. If Xevera ever married, it would be a true miracle. Her sister had a love interest, it was just one that she preferred not to talk about.

"We don't have any tea."

"Tanith brought over some not too long ago."

That was something she should have saw coming. Ever so slowly she made her way over towards the kitchen and began preparing everyone something to drink. The only positive side was that she did not have to cook. Alise truly hated when her sister volunteered her to cook for anyone. Being second in command did not make her Xevera's servant. Some days she felt just like that. As she brewed the tea, she wondered why Xevera had not requested something else. One look over her shoulder told her why. It was Xevera's dying need to play match maker.

Back when they had first joined the Survey Corps, Alise did have a minor crush on Levi. It was something about the look in his eyes that attracted her. His personality was favorable to a degree and his tone was fascinating. Granted he was not as charismatic as others, but he had his own charms. With time her crush slowly faded away. The problem was, Xevera did not listen to her. She had made the mistake of telling her sister how she felt a long time ago and Xevera never let it go. Xevera told her to act on it and she refused. In their line of work, doing stuff like that was out of the question. When he became a captain, he became further out of reach.

Maybe Xevera would have dropped the matter if Alise would have tried looking at someone else. There was no one else that caught her interest. That was mostly because she was not looking. She was too busy trying to keep her sister alive to worry about falling in love. There was no point in falling for someone, especially when she could be killed the moment she stepped foot outside of the Walls. It was not odd for people to die inside the Wall either. While love sounded nice and promising, it was better to just protect the people she allowed to get close. Xevera could believe what she wanted, but Alise was certain she did not care about Levi.

With everyone's drink in hand, Alise placed down Levi's drink first and then moved to her sister and Hange. Once everyone had their cup she had begun to move away.

"Come join us."

Xevera's tone said that she was not asking. Even if Alise wanted to say that she was tired, Xevera was not going to listen to her. As she looked over the table, she noticed that the only open seat was next to Levi. Sitting next to him did not mean that she had to talk to him. There would be no ninth conversation.

"Commander Erwin is putting a lot of interest in Eren. This is a risky play, but I am curious to see how this all plays out. Anyway, Hange, what plans were you itching to talk to us about."

"Tomorrow, we are going to capture a Titan. It is the perfect opportunity to collect one and I was wondering if you all wanted to help."

"No."

Levi got right to the point and from the look in his eyes, Alise could tell he was not going to change his mind. She had to side with him on this matter. She was not a fan of collecting Titans because of the risk. With their squad being the way that it was, it was best if they stayed away from such matters.

"I am in."

Alise nearly choked on her tea when she heard Xevera. Had her sister really just said the unthinkable.

"Pardon, but our squad is not cut out for something like that."

"Some of you all can be a bit worthless at times."

Alise turned away from her sister to look at Levi. She could have sworn that she was talking to her sister. Since he wanted to comment, she had no problem with addressing him.

"I didn't know I asked for your opinion. If you think pulling rank is going to cause me to back down, you don't know me that well."

"I never thought that. I do stand by the fact that most of your squad is useless. I watched the way they performed today and most of them live up to their label."

Levi's tone was annoying her more than usual. Just as Alise went to say something, Xevera's laughter interrupted her.

"Some of them are acting as if they just want to be fodder. Alise, how did training go tonight?"

"Maya got her first kill today and the others performed well."

"That is good. Regardless the squad still won't be of any help. I think a day away from Titans may do them some good."

"Are you taking back what you said to Hange?"

"Of course not. Both of us can handle more Titans than anyone in our group. Since she needs help, we are going to help her out."

"Not like I have an option. As long as Levi's squad is not there to get in the way, I am sure everything will go smoothly."

Alise could not resist throwing another jab at Levi and the look he gave her did not mess with her. Hange got a kick out of it as well and when she started laughing, Alise allowed the topic to be dropped.

"Hange, come with me. I have some stuff I want to go over with you."

As her sister left the room, Alise stood up quickly from the table. Since her sister was not going to clean, she decided it was best if she cleaned up. Once the table was cleared, Alise noticed Levi still had his cup.

"Are you finished or would the captain like some more tea."

"No, it didn't taste all that great."

"Well at least that is something I can agree with you on."

The tea had a funny taste to it. She had no idea where Tanith had gotten it from and she did not care. That was just one product she would never use again. It was better to stick with the tea that she liked.

"Would you care for me to pour it out then?"

"I don't waste food."

Alise did not bother to press the matter and took up sitting across from him. She had no idea why she was still sitting there. Levi had not moved to leave, and she saw no point in rushing away.

"Captain, you find all of our squad to be useless?"

"I said some, not all."

"If you find us to be useless, then some could argue that your squad is useless. After all, we suffered a massive loss and you all were supposed to be the elite ones of the group. Some would even go as far as to call your squad our saviors."

"What some say is not always the truth. The fact still remains that you are still alive to have this conversation. Our squads performed to our best to make sure the rest of us got back alive. None of us are gods, so don't look for miracles each time we encounter a Titan."

"I will never assume that you all are gods nor anyone that I work with. In the end, all of us are just crazy humans who have the nerve to either kill or study Titans."

Alise turned her head when she noticed Hange walking back into the room followed by her sister.

"Are you two still at each other's throat."

Hange held a mildly concerned look on her face as she spoke.

"No, Hange. I am actually headed up to bed. You all can discuss without me."

Alise did not bother to look at her sister as she made her way up to her new room. Unlike the other members, she was sharing her room with her sister. It was nice since she did not have to hear useless conversation while she tried to sleep. The down side was that her sister was going to have her up bright and early. If she managed to fall asleep first, then she could avoid the questions that were sure to come about Levi.

While she had not managed to fall asleep first, when Xevera came in during the night she did not pester her. Alise had faked being sleep, but she knew Xevera saw through it. It was nice not to be pestered and while she did not get to sleep for long, she enjoyed the bit of rest she did manage to get.

Before Xevera could kick her bed, Alise sat up and waved her hands in front of her.

"I am up. I am going to get ready."

"To think if you did not get up, I was going to shove you out of the bed."

"Lucky me."

Alise rubbed her back as she headed towards the bathroom. The water was not all that great, but she was glad to be clean. For the rest of the morning she allowed herself to stay in her mind. She had no idea what she was walking into, but she was going to have to be on her toes. Capturing was not an easy task. It was far easier to kill in her opinion. As they rode towards their destination, Alise finally broke her silence.

"What Titan are we going after?"

"We are going after two of them. Hange and I thought it would be a good idea to get a male and female."

"One was good enough. Two is being a bit reckless, if you don't mind me saying."

"We live a reckless life style, so this is nothing new."

"What strategy did you all come up with to capture these two Titans. I am going to tell you now, I am not going after any of the bigger ones."

"No worries, with the room we will be using, big is out of the question."

"Well, tell me about the strategy."

"Instead of targeting one Titan at a time, we decided to set up two traps. I am going to man one and Hange is in charge of the other. We managed to get a few more recruits, so it will be no problem."

"Do you expect me to believe that you all will wait patiently until some unlucky Titans wonder into your trap."

"Of course not. Titans like food, so we are going to tempt them with that."

The smirk that had formed on Xevera's face told Alise just what Xevera meant by that.

"You picked me to be bait. I cannot even get a break from that. Why couldn't I pull the trigger for the traps or something."

"Being bait is not that bad. After all, you will be the one that picks out one of the Titans that Hange gets to use."

"I feel so honored Captain. Forgive me for not jumping for joy right now."

"No need to be so sarcastic."

Alise stared at her sister but did not bother to say anything. When they reached the Wall, they decided to take the lift up. Gas needed to be conserved and Alise used the time to lightly stretch.

When they reached the top, Hange was not the first person to greet them. Tanith was bubbling over with happiness and practically tackled them when they got in striking range. Despite being hugged tightly, Alise did not bother to push her friend away.

"Tanith, you just saw us yesterday."

Alise pulled back lightly as she spoke.

"I know, but with all this stuff going on, I just wanted to hug you guys. On top of that, I heard you all were helping Hange out. Now I really want to hug you all because I could lose you all. Why couldn't you all try capturing them at night. It is less of a risk you know."

"We are all about taking risk."

Xevera patted the top of Tanith's head as she spoke.

"I know, but I still cannot help but to worry. You all better come back with all your parts."

Tanith released them from her grip and quickly adjusted Alise's jacket. When she was done looking them over, she resumed her duties of helping load the cannons. Alise had thought of saying something encouraging but decided to just follow after Tanith. The faster they started their mission; the easier things would be for them.

Alise stood silently as Hange and Xevera spoke. She offered a small smile to Hange when the woman thanked her for helping out. If Hange recalled, she had not truly volunteered for the job. Pointing out the facts was of no use. She had a job to do now and she was assigned to work with two other people. While she had heard their names, she did not bother to commit them to memory. Her focus stayed on the objective at hand. When the traps were set, she motioned for the people to follow behind her.

A lot of the Titans did not catch her eye. Some looked to scrawny and others were not interesting enough. The thought that she was being too picky had crossed her mind. She really did not know what she was looking for. Xevera would have been better out here then she was. At least Xevera took notes on some of the Titans they encountered. All Alise did was cut them down. She did not care about their behaviors or their habits.

"That is the one."

The group had stopped on top of a building to scan the area when Alise spotted a female Titan. The Titan had messy blonde hair and blue eyes. The look in its eyes was rather amusing. Something like that was sure to be able to withstand Hange's experiments. Its height was perfect for the trap.

"You two stay behind us. If you think it is going to kill me, then strike it down and we will start over."

Alise landed on a building in front of the Titan and waved her hand at it.

"Runt, are you hungry? Come try to eat me."

The Titan was fast for its size, but Alise was not worried. It stumbled a bit when it began chasing her. Its stumbling did not slow it down. When Alise thought that she had gone to fast, one look over her shoulder told her that she needed to move a bit faster. After managing to clear a few buildings, the trap site was only a few feet a head of her. When she cleared the zone, the sound of the traps going off erupted behind her. Alise planted her feet on the ground and looked over the captured Titan.

"Captain my job is done. If I am permitted may I return to the base. There are a lot of things that require my attention."

"Go ahead, you did a great job today."

Xevera's praise was welcomed but not really needed. Alise performed well every day and she did not need her ego to be stroked. Since they were around others, Alise began to smile. It was better to look appreciative in front of everyone. She made sure to keep the smile on her face until she neared the Wall.

Once Alise was back inside of the base she began taking in the area around her. She did not know when, but someone had done all the cleaning for her. The recruits were nowhere to be seen and she doubted any of them would take on such a task. As she stood marveling at the work well done, the sound of supplies falling caught her attention. Inside the supply closet, Maya stood surrounded by a fallen broom and bucket.

"Did you do all of this by yourself?"

"I started last night, and I resumed this morning when I heard you all leave."

"You didn't have to do that. You all earned a day off, so why not go enjoy it."

"I thought about what you said. After everything that happened, I wanted to thank you guys for not giving up on me. More importantly I wanted to make up for the damage that I caused."

"Cleaning does not make you a better family member in this squad. Maybe if you were in Levi's squad this would count for something, but here it does not mean much."

Alise paused in her speech and then reached out and rested a hand on Maya's shoulder.

"It is still a good start. After I organize this closet, then maybe we can train together."

"I can help you with that. The others told me about how particular you are, and I promise you that I won't get in your way."

"As long as you promise, then I have no objection."

Alise placed her jacket on a nearby chair and then got to work on emptying out the closet. While they worked, Alise decided to get to know Maya a bit more. If she was going to be stuck with this girl, it was best she got to know something about her.

"When I was growing up, my father always told me that if someone did not stand up for the weaker people then no one would. He always looked up to the Garrison. He would have joined the Garrison if it had not been for his bad leg. He never had a son, so I figured that I would make him proud. My mother wanted me to get married, but if I did that then my father's dream would die."

"Your parent's dreams are not your burden."

"It is only a burden if you view it as such. When I was eight, I found out that my father actually came from money. He was supposed to take over my grandfather's business, but he got a worker pregnant. My grandfather was going to pay for my mother to vanish. On the night that she was supposed to leave, my father met her at the door instead of the other guy. He ran away with my mother and because of that, he was cut off. My parents struggled for a while before my father managed to land a job that took care of us. I signed up because I wanted to join the Garrison. I was part of the Garrison, up until Wall Maria fell."

Maya had paused in her speech and Alise found it best not to press the topic. If Maya did not want to talk about what caused her to join, then she was not going to press the matter. She was about to change the topic when Maya spoke up.

"I grew up in the Shiganshina District. For two weeks straight, I held high hopes that my parents were alive. I walked through the survivors more than once and I could not find them. I found one of my neighbors and they told me everything. My father, with his bad leg, had gone to save a small child that was standing around crying. In his condition he should have just kept running, but he didn't. His need to be a hero cost him his life. They said a Titan snatched him up and bite clean into him. My mother was so traumatized that she didn't even run. A Titan did not kill her, but some falling debris crushed her. I was supposed to be defending people and I was not there when my parents needed me the most. The Walls are useless, unless there are people out there doing something to keep the Titans back. I thought I was ready for the task back then, but I wasn't."

Alise placed away the items in her hand and let out a low sigh.

"Vengeance fuels a lot of people these days. I am sorry for your loss, but I doubt killing Titans will cause the wound to close completely. If anything, when you encounter a Titan, don't think about the people they killed. Don't fear them and don't fear me. When you encounter a Titan, think about the people they are going to eat. Every Titan struck down means someone has been given a second chance. Be it on this squad or somewhere deep behind the Walls."

"Alise, thank you for not giving up on me."

"I was never going to give up on you. I just was going to get rid of you and move on."

Alise allowed a smile to spread across her face before she started to laugh. She was never going to feed Maya to the Titans, but she was never going to tell her that. It was always best if Maya never forgot her hidden motivation. With Maya remembering what happened to her parents, she doubted the female would give into her fears again. While Maya worked contently next to her, Alise found herself reflecting on a hidden memory. Instead of allowing the memory to persist, Alise continued the task at hand. There was a lot that needed to be accomplished today and she could not be distracted.


	4. Chapter 4

With cleaning and organizing finally out of the way, Alise allowed herself to turn towards the next task at hand.

"Would you like to take a break before we begin training or do you want to jump straight into it."

"No breaks please. I want to go right into training."

"Whatever you say."

On her way out of the door, Alise picked up a small knife. Normally she would have grabbed a wooden knife, but she could not find any. Since they were no longer in the training corps, she saw no point in even using fake props.

The moment they got outside, Alise handed Maya the knife and motioned for her to start. There was a look of hesitation in her eyes, but when they started the look faded away. Where this sudden spark came from was beyond Alise's knowledge. Alise had thought she would be able to take down Maya quickly, but Maya was proving to be challenging. Alise managed to step back in time to see the blade go by her face and that was close enough for her. Before Maya could pull her hand back, Alise grabbed the back of her arm and then kicked her feet from out under her. Even on the ground, Maya had refused to go down easily. Alise never released her grip on Maya's arm and with a bit of pressure, Maya had finally dropped the knife.

"Not bad. Now get up and let's do it again. This time I am going to use the knife and I want you to go on the attack again."

The way this activity was done in training was not the way Alise was conducting it. She was all about making her partner attack no matter who was holding the knife. As Alise defended herself, she made sure not to swing the knife. Having a knife in her hand felt a bit more natural than the weapon she used mostly every day. Just using the knife took her back to moments in her childhood. While they were fun memories, she refused to think about them. Without realizing it, Alise had almost grazed Maya. Before the knife could connect, Alise quickly tossed it to her other hand.

"Sorry, I forgot where I was for a moment. Try again."

This time when Maya went to strike her, Alise ducked low and slammed her foot into Maya's side. The impact of her kick caused Maya to topple over. Alise could have used less force in the kick, but the enemy would not go easy on her. One hit from a Titan was enough to cut a person in half, if they were lucky. Being crushed to death could be fast, if the Titan did not step on half of a person's body.

"I want to try again."

Maya's words caught Alise off guard. Not many people would want to go again after taking a hit like that. Maya had something she wanted to prove and Alise was not going to stop her. When Maya was back on her feet, Alise did not wait for to attack. With a quick flick of her wrist, Alise tossed the knife away from her. She needed to use both of her hands this time if she wanted Maya to surrender.

Alise had done a good job at backing Maya up, but the female was not going down easily. Her legs had faltered a couple of times when she was hit and yet she did not fall. The punches Maya managed to land stung a bit, but she was not going to drop her guard. Maya had gotten so into her attacks that she had failed to realize that she had left an opening. When the opening presented itself, Alise did not hesitate to take it. One well placed punch was enough to knock the wind out of Maya.

"You got to be careful with the openings you leave. Unless of course you learn to turn those openings into potential traps. Something like that takes time to master though."

While Maya struggled to grab her breath, Alise began cleaning up their training area. She was about to step away when she heard Maya say something.

"Speak up, it is rather hard to hear you."

"I want to go again."

"Your body needs a break."

"I have been taking a break for a while. One more round, please."

"As nice as it was to beat you up, I am going to have to decline. There are other areas you need to work on. If you want to get stronger then go run. In fact, run until the moon is high in the sky. Jump to it and if I find that you slacked off, I will cut your meal portions in half."

Alise sat down on a tree stub and watched as Maya disappeared into the distance. There was something about Maya that reminded her of someone in her past. It was a troubling factor and she hated that she had asked Maya about her past. Unlike Xevera, Alise did her best not to dip into people's past. She did not care where they came from or what they had done. They earned her protection because they were part of this squad. Protecting people did not mean she had to get to know them. The less she knew about them, the easier it was to protect them, or so she told herself. When they died she did not cry over them. Their deaths served as a reason for her to become stronger. Despite it all, she had broken her own rule and asked Maya about her past.

"You could have come back to help us out."

Xevera leaned heavily on Alise's back causing Alise to fall forward slightly.

"I told you I had things to take care of."

"All you are doing is staring into the distance. How is that taking care of anything?"

"I sent Maya out for a run. I am just making sure she is doing as she was instructed."

"You need to go easy on her. One of these days you are going to push someone to far."

Alise could have allowed the topic to end there, but for some reason she could not. Something about this situation added to the list of things that had been troubling her lately. If she shared what was on her mind, then maybe she could finally have some peace of mind.

"I asked her about her past."

"Here I thought I was the only one who took an interest in our squad."

Xevera had started to smile as she patted Alise on the back. Her hand suddenly stopped when Alise resumed talking.

"You come off as caring and upbeat, but I know you. You have your times when you are calculating, and I am starting to wonder if Commander Erwin's ways have rubbed off on you."

"What is that supposed to mean. Are you trying to say that I am a malicious person? I truly hope you don't think he is malicious."

"I never said malicious. Since you want to act dumb, then allow me to spell it out for you. The other day you ordered me to make tea for you all when you could have done it yourself. After I made your tea, you had me sit at the table. Not long into our conversation you left me alone with Levi. You are still playing matchmaker even though I told you I have no interest in him."

"You are lying to me. My actions bother you because you still care. I see the way you look at him, it is the same look you had when he was first introduced to us. You try to hide the feeling by looking annoyed, but I see past all of that. No one forced you to stay at the table when we left. You could have excused yourself and left him alone. When I came back you looked content. You pick at him and get annoyed with him because of your own messed up feelings. You can stand here and deny it all, but I see past it. I truly just want you to be happy. You have been in pain for so long and you won't let anyone else get close. If something happens to me, I need to know that you won't stop smiling or living."

"You are always going to be alive. I am going to protect you, no matter what. I don't want to hear that kind of talk ever again."

"We are both aware that you cannot always protect people. It has been proven before, even if you don't want to talk about the matter."

"You promised me that we would never speak on that matter."

"We are not speaking on the matter, I was just barely mentioning it."

"You are not mentioning it, you want to talk about it. That is why you stuck me with Maya. You knew she would remind me of her, despite some of the differences."

"I didn't know anything. I assigned Maya to you because you are the only person that could pull out her potential. Nice words don't work on everyone."

"You took a gamble, just like Commander Erwin. Always willing to take a gamble, not really caring about the outcome. If you keep up with this, you are going to cause me to shut you out of my life."

"Opening up is that hard for you. You are shutting down because of Sabrina or because deep down you are still a coward."

Alise stood up quickly and turned towards her sister. Without realizing it, she had allowed her anger to get the best of her. The knife had moved towards Xevera's face, but Xevera knocked it out of the way with ease. When she went to strike again, Xevera tossed her jacket over Alise's face and then punched her. The blood that ran from Alise's nose only fueled her anger. Xevera had crossed the line and she was determined to make her pay. As hard as she tried, she could not touch her sister. When Xevera brought Alise's head down into her knee, Alise allowed the knife to fall from her hand.

"You can be a real bastard at times Xevera."

"I am what the situation calls for. You can hate me, but if this squad is going to get any better you need to face your inner demons. We are the Grim Squad because I am the only person that cares about these people. You care because of me and even then, it does not go deep. You would have killed most of our squad because they were weak in your eyes. You are not killing them, you are killing yourself. You have been on this self-destructive path for years and it needs to stop. If you cannot adopt a better personality, then maybe I should replace you with someone who can."

Xevera snatched her jacket off of the ground and began shaking the dirt from it. As she moved around, Alise did not bother to say anything.

"Before I forget, as a squad we will be enjoying dinner together. It will do this squad some good to have their morale built back up in a caring environment. If you are not going to be in a good mood, then I suggest you fake being sick or something."

This was the side of Xevera that most people did not get to see. She came across as caring until the situation called for her to change things up. This side of Xevera tended to only be seen by Alise or Commander Erwin when they got into heated debates.

Alise did not hear Xevera walk away. Her eyes focused on the blood that was dripping on the ground in front of her. A small puddle had started to form before she dared to sit up. Her head was screaming, and she wanted to be away from everyone. There was no place for her to hide and in an attempt to avoid the squad, Alise retreated to her room. She was certain Xevera would not be there and she was glad she was right. The last thing she wanted to do was look at her sister. Xevera's words had struck a nerve not because of her tone but because they were true.

In the distance, Alise could see Maya finally running back towards their base. With each step that Maya took, Alise stared to slowly see Sabrina. Sabrina was a bit taller than Maya and her hair was slightly longer. There was something about Maya that screamed Sabrina. Before she knew it, hot tears had started to roll down her cheek. It had been so long since she had thought about Sabrina. Lack of thinking about Sabrina caused her to forget her laughter and more importantly her voice. Why could she not recall such a small thing?

Alise dropped to her knees and buried her face deep into the darkness. She could not hear the sound of movement beneath her or even around her. It seemed as if the world just suddenly fell silent and she was okay with that.

"I am sorry."

The words were spoken softly, and it felt as if they weighed a ton when they left her mouth. There was no one in the room to hear her words, just the darkness she had consumed herself in. These words should have been spoken to someone a long time ago. Alise had never allowed herself to say them. Those words acted as the lock that kept her from remembering that moment. It was the moment that pushed her completely into what she was today.

Her eyes stung from crying and she was not sure when she had passed out. Her sleep did not last long and while she wanted to stay hidden she forced herself up. How long was she going to allow herself to run? She had prided herself on being strong and Xevera saw through it all. If her sister knew for that long, she could have just confronted her in the past. It was not like she was going around harming all of their squad members. A bit of her believed that she was actually doing a good job. She had taken the time to train people and had pushed them past their limits. No matter how much she tried to reason with herself, she knew it was a lie. She had been harsh to a lot of people. Levi appeared cold, but his squad knew that he cared. The same though could not be said about her. There were probably a lot of people that died who thought she was a heartless witch.

There was nothing that could be done about those people. They were dead and there was no going back. The only thing she could do was look at the future. While she was willing to make some changes, she was not going to be like Xevera. She would do things her way, just with a bit more feeling. The first way to show Xevera that she had changed was by allowing herself to attend this stupid dinner. Before she went downstairs, she washed her face to remove signs of her crying.

The dining area was filled with mixed emotions. While some people appeared happy, others still looked a bit gloomy. There were only two rookies left and it would take a lot to make them smile. Making people smile was something she was not used to doing. Even though she said she was going to be a better person, taking on a task like that was too much for her.

"Nice of you to join us Alise. I just finished telling everyone about the Titans we managed to catch. I thought that would perk up some people, but it looks like I was wrong."

"Talk like that only perks up people like Hange."

"It is interesting stuff though. Maybe having a larger dinner would make everyone happy. It would be good to have the squads mingle. After all, I am sure a lot of you all trained together."

One of the rookies slammed his cup down and glared at Xevera.

"What is wrong with you. You are sitting there with a smile on your face as if we did not fail these past few days. You lost members of your squad and you all are acting as if it did not even happen. No one cares about a dinner or those stupid Titans. We all are going to die anyway, why not let us live out or time in peace."

Alise's eyes narrowed when the male finished talking. She wanted to slam his head down on the table. The look Xevera gave her, told her that Xevera was going to handle the matter in her own way.

"Holly, Mike, Frank, and Gaspard. Holly liked to write her parents letters every chance that she got. Mike and Frank tended to have their own personal eating contest. Gaspard was rather observant despite his silent nature. If I recall correctly Frank was the one that snored the loudest. Don't think I have not recognized that I have lost people. The room already fills empty without their presence. While some of their faces were new to me, I still took the time to get to know their habits. If I allowed you to live out your life in peace, you would be useless to me. I bet you would sit up all night picturing the different ways you will die. I am sure at one point all of us have done that. Who could blame you, after all we are just bait."

"I wouldn't picture how I would die."

"You are right Elijah. Living in peace would mean that you will finally write a letter to that female whose picture you keep stored under your pillow at night. Before you try to argue the matter, know that I am aware that you carry that picture with you wherever you go. If you don't mind me asking, who is the mysterious lady."

"She is my little sister. She is all the family that I have left."

"Well that is understandable. What about the rest of you. Is there someone you want to write or that you are thinking about?"

Maya leaned forward slowly and looked around at the people in the room.

"I don't have anyone to write, but I do still think about my parents every night. I know this may sound a bit rude, but why do you insist on getting to know us. The next time we go out there, there is no telling if any of us will make it back."

Xevera did not reply right away. Instead she took a sip of her drink and began running her finger around the rim.

"I get to know you guys because you are not bait to me. Some of you mean something to someone out there. While others don't have that luxury. This is the only family a lot of you have. I am sure you all curse your luck because you were placed in this squad, but don't. We are not the only bait squad; a lot of squads suffer high causalities. Our luck just tends to be a lot worse than the others. Regardless of our circumstances, we are all still a part of the Survey Corps and more importantly you all are part of my family. If I didn't get to know any of you, then I am scared I will forget what made you all unique.

I have seen a lot of people die and I want you all to know that I have not forgotten them. I have them burned permanently in my mind. Each time that I strike down a Titan, I do so in honor of those that we lost. I would not be where I am if it was not for those people that I met. I am not saying that we have to be all smiles and laughter. Smiling is just better than walking around looking gloomy. You don't have to laugh or do anything you don't like. In fact, I encourage you to do things that make you happy. The one mandatory rule that I have is that there will never be a gloomy day inside these four walls. You can be gloomy outside. Inside these walls we leave behind the Titans and unwind as best as possible."

Elijah focused on the spoon in front of him when he began talking.

"I want to see my sister smile again. Her smile tended to erase away my troubling thoughts."

"Then picture her smile when you walk in here. You can even keep her picture out if it makes you feel better."

Maya glanced over at the picture in front of Elijah and began to smile down at it.

"I may not have a family and I may be a terrible family member, but I will say this. I am glad that I met you all. I don't know how long I have left. All I know is that I will do my best every day."

As the others in the room began to chime in about what made them happy or what they were going to do, Alise sat back and listened. For the first time she was actually able to know more than just their names. Maya was the former scaredy cat of the group. Elijah had a little sister that he wanted to see again. Vanessa was a veteran in the squad and she had broken her arm saving Elijah because she did not want to lose anyone else. Azriel had admitted to being clumsy and that was the reason he had broken his nose. Doran had a father that he wanted to make proud. Every time that he killed a Titan he would send a letter back to his father. Zamon had joined not to long after Vanessa. He had promised his dead buddies that he would keep fighting until he stopped breathing. The final members of their group were Reese and Izo. The pair were cousins and had joined because they always looked up to the Survey Corps.

If she would have stayed in her room and away from the others, she would have missed out on all of this. It was only right that after everyone opened up, that she should say something to them.

"One long speech from your captain and all of a sudden you all come out of your shells. I suppose Xevera has always had that effect on her squad. None the less, I suppose it is best I share something about myself. You all are aware that I like to keep things organized. Zamon and Vanessa are aware of what happens when people mess with my order. Besides that lovely quality, I will say that despite my cold nature, I do care about you all in my own way. I may forget certain things about you all over time, but I will never forget what you all did for this squad. If you all promise to keep fighting, I will do my best to protect you all. Like I said before, you all are my family and it is only right that I look out for you all."

Unlike the last time she said those words, she actually meant them this time. These people were her family, no matter what she thought. While some of them could be weak at times, it did not mean she had a right to ever give up on them. If they did not respond to Xevera's kind ways or her tough love, Alise would pull their potential out of them another way. Never would she allow herself to abandon them. What she was doing was not because of Xevera or her need to make her sister look good. Alise was taking this step forward because she needed to. It was the only way she could finally get over what happened to Sabrina.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made myself stay up to write the first part of this flashback. Instead of making this a very long chapter, I decided that I was going to break the flashback down into two chapters. The next chapter will contain the last part of the flashback. The final thing I would like to say is thank you to everyone that has been reading. I would also like to thank people for any reviews that you leave.
> 
> Sabrina
> 
> Occupation: Soldier (Survey Corps)
> 
> Appearance: Sabrina has medium length light brown hair with mildly dark brown eyes. She stands at 166cm, weighs 68kg, and has a mild athletic build. She wears a brown woven bracelet on her left arm. She has an average chest size.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from Shingeki no Kyojin, they all belong to the lovely Hajime Isayama. The only characters I own are the ones I made up. Also, I did not make the image I am using. That image was found online and all rights belong to original designer.

All she had to do was walk down the hallway and just say one word. She could say hi and then allow the rest to just go from there. Saying hello was not all that easy, especially when it came to dealing with Levi. After the twenty third expedition, when he lost everything, Alise did not know what to say to him. He appeared to be colder than usual and his eyes seemed a bit duller. It was hard to truly read him because he made it difficult. The only people that possibly knew him were Furlan and Isabel, but they were dead now. A bit of her wondered if she would even be able to help him get past his pain. He seemed fine on the twenty fourth expedition and maybe he would be fine for the next one. A lot of people in pain did not show it and she doubted he would ever ask for any help. If she was going to get anywhere, she could not be shy.

Alise turned slightly on her bed to get a better view. Her body quickly tensed up when she noticed she was looking directly into Sabrina's eyes. Sabrina's smile caused her to relax and she knocked the woman's hand away before she could ruffle her hair.

"How long have you been squatting there?"

"Not too long. I was wondering when you would turn around, but it seems you were lost in your thoughts. Let me guess, it is Levi again."

Alise quickly covered Sabrina's mouth and pulled her onto her bed.

"Keep your voice down. I don't want anyone to hear you. It is bad enough Xevera knows."

"Your sister can keep a secret. Me on the other hand, well there is no telling what may come out one day."

Alise shot Sabrina a mildly intimidating glare, but then shrugged her shoulders.

"If you were going to do anything then you would have done it already."

"Maybe I am just waiting for the perfect time."

"I doubt it will ever be a perfect time. I still feel really bad for him. He lost his friends and I still have not said anything to him."

"There is not much that can be said. Unless you are going to walk up to him and offer him the cliché line associated with grieving."

"What line would that be?"

"I am sorry for your loss, if you need anything let me know. If it was a guy saying the line to a female, then it tends to be that plus the fact that I can comfort you with the small pipe between my legs. I guess they suppose we are going to jump on that because who knows when a Titan will bite it off."

Alise chuckled at Sabrina when she grabbed her crotch. Sabrina had a spark to her that was hard to describe. She never thought that she would meet someone like Sabrina in a place like this. She said what was on her mind and did her best not to let anyone down. When people felt down, Sabrina had a way of perking people up. Sometimes Alise wished that she would have met Sabrina back when she was nothing more than a street rat. While her life on the street was rough, Tanith and Xevera made it easier. She was just certain that Sabrina would have made things a lot better.

"Some days I wonder if you have a filter."

"My lack of a filter is the reason I had to do the most during our training. Some days I swear that sadistic bastard liked making me run. No matter, he could not break me."

Despite what she said, Alise knew that Sabrina had a filter. She did not mouth off to their captain and she did as she was told. While she did not verbalize her feelings, her looks tended to say it all. It was amusing to watch her somedays and other days she found herself worrying over her.

"By the way, did you mean what you said about giving that letter to your family member."

"If you work up the courage to talk to Levi, then I will have the courage to finally do that small thing."

Alise rolled on her stomach and let out a low sigh.

"You are already brave. You don't need my courage to do that small little task."

Sabrina pushed Alise out of the way and then crawled onto her bed. The bunk beds were small, but Alise did not mind sharing her bed. Sabrina had showed her that when it came to her bed, there was no such thing as personal space. When she first met Sabrina, Alise tried pushing her out of her bed, but it was useless. Even when she managed to succeed, all Sabrina would do was get up and then sit on her. Having Sabrina lay next to her was better than having her on top of her.

"You all think highly of me. I am human just like the rest of you. I am full of fear, I just barely show it."

"What are you scared of? It cannot be Titans because you have a high amount of kills. I am sure when it comes to that letter you are just nervous."

"I actually am scared of Titans you know. I just tell myself it is better to fear them every day then to be fodder. As far as the letter goes, it is both fear and nerves."

"You have nothing to fear. I am sure that person will be happy to have you in their life."

"I am already in their life, I just took on a different role."

Alise held a puzzle expression on her face as she pondered Sabrina's words.

"Who is this person that has you questioning yourself?"

Sabrina had gone silent for a while and Alise's nudging did nothing to make her respond. After a while she let the matter drop and rolled to look up at the bottom of the bed above her.

"Do you think Tanith will think I am a cool cousin?"

"Tanith? She does not have any family."

"She did or well does. I am living proof of that. I just don't know what to say to her."

"Well no sense in shutting down now. I am not going to ask for any details, but I will say that you should say something. Having friends is nice, especially in a place like this. Family is a bit better in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I think of the two of you like sisters. I will put my life down for you all. It Is just rather hard to explain why family that you love creates a different feeling inside of you instead of close friends."

"That is understandable. I just don't know. It is easier to just remain her friend then to have to talk about everything that I know."

"When have you ever liked doing what is easier?"

"You have a point there. How about this, after our next expedition I will give her the note."

"So, you are not going to wait for me to talk to Levi?"

"If I did that, Tanith would never get that letter. I just need a bit more time to think over everything I want to say. I feel like I left some things out and I want to get it all out before we speak."

"That sounds reasonable."

Alise watched as Sabrina got out of her bed and then began moving the pillows around on her own bed. After some time, Sabrina came back with a letter in her hand.

"I want you to give me your honest opinion on what I wrote. I just want it to be perfect and I trust that you won't go running your mouth."

Alise nodded her head and began reading over the letter. She had no idea that Sabrina came from such a tough life. Her mother was disowned by her mother for getting pregnant before she was married. Sabrina's mother was given the option of giving away her baby, but she chose not to. Sabrina's mother ended up in the country part of Wall Maria where she met a slightly older farm hand. He took her mother in and when Sabrina was three, they ended up getting married. All while she grew up, Sabrina remembered her mother wearing a locket that had her sister's picture inside of it. She didn't get to see her sister grow, but it did not stop her from loving her. When she turned ten her mother died from an uncurbable disease. Her stepfather raised her and taught her how to farm the land and how to hunt in the winter. She learned about Tanith when she was thirteen but was too scared to say anything.

The letter Sabrina wrote was touching in its own way. She spoke highly of her mother and her mother's desire to see her sister. What made her almost cry was the gift that Sabrina's mother wanted to give her sister. She felt Sabrina's mother's regret as well as Sabrina's regret. It made Alise want to pull Sabrina close and hug her. That was something Tanith would get to do once she found out the truth.

"What was the gift your mother wanted to give her sister?"

Sabrina lifted her arm up and pointed towards the fabric bracelet that was on her arm.

"My mother made this a few months before she died. She wanted to give it to her sister, but never did. I think it was her failing strength that killed her nerves. No matter, I am going to finally bridge that gap."

Alise let out a low sigh and then began climbing over Sabrina. This woman really knew how to move her without even trying.

"Where are you going?"

"If you can get the courage to talk to Tanith then I can talk to Levi."

"That is the spirit. Don't forget to make the moment special in your own way."

Making the moment special was not something she was good at. Things would have been a lot easier if she would have just written a letter. Then again, what was she going to say in that letter. Just writing a greeting on a piece of paper was unacceptable. Words were her best bet, she just needed to think of something to say. While she thought over her options, she found herself making a cup of tea. It dawned on her that this was her way of making things special.

Alise moved slowly towards the room that Levi occupied and was glad to see people leaving. She had no idea if he was in there or if he was out training. Regardless of where he was, she was not going to back down. Thankfully, Levi was in his room and it looked like he was nearly finished cleaning. With that in mind, Alise made sure to not spill anything in fear that it would anger him.

"I brought you some tea."

Alise watched as he turned towards her and offered him a rather weak smile.

"I figured you would want something refreshing after training or in this case cleaning. I am going to place it down here, so that it is not in your way."

She had expected him to say something, but he didn't. As he moved towards her, she felt her heartbeat increasing. A bit of her wondered if she should feel guilty for having these feelings. He was coping with losing his friends and there she was with her stupid crush. When he reached out and picked up the cup, it felt as if she had forgotten to breathe. Air only returned to her lungs when Levi finally broke his silence.

"This is a good cup of tea."

"I am glad you like it."

Levi had not bothered to say much more, and she was wondering what else to say. He had thanked her for the tea, in his own way, but gave her no other opening. The idea of turning and leaving crossed her mind. If she did that now, then she would feel like a coward for the rest of her life.

"Do you need a hand? I am a pretty good cleaner and I promise you won't be disappointed."

Alise was not really asking him. To do such a thing would mean that she was only setting herself up for failure. As she moved to start cleaning, she felt Levi's hand on her arm.

"If you are going to clean, I suggest you wear this to cover your mouth. On top of that, can you wait until I finish my tea."

"That would be a good idea."

Alise offered him a sheepish smile and looked down at the white bandana he had given her. She knew about his cleaning habits and they did not really bother her. In a way, it was kind of amusing. No one would ever imagine that a person with a harsh tongue, could demand such cleanliness. Some would picture people like Levi living in a somewhat dirty area, but that was not the case. While she thought about saying more to him, she decided it was best just to wait. He did not look like he wanted to talk much, and she was not going to press it. He was allowing her to help him clean and that was a step in the right direction.

Once Levi was done drinking, Alise moved back and adjusted his cup. Her eyes moved up to him when he began speaking.

"What are you doing?"

"I always believe that a cup's handle should face in the direction of the kitchen or the exit. It allows for me to walk by and grab it in one motion. Even if I am carrying plates, I can use my finger to pick it up with ease. If the handle is facing another direction, then it is kind of hard to grab. Misplaced handles cause me to have to shift things around in my hand and it is a bit of a pain."

"What they say is true."

"What all do they say?"

"You are an organizational nut."

"I am not really a nut. I barely do stuff like that in the first place."

Alise looked down at the ground as she spoke. She had only organized a few things and it was not enough to call her a nut. Just hearing Levi say such things made her wonder if maybe he thought she was crazy. If he did, then there was a chance that she would never be with someone like him. All her efforts were worth nothing then.

"It does not really matter. As long as you don't make a mess then I don't care."

There was something about Levi's words that seemed different. It was not as cold as normal and for a moment she wondered what was going through his mind. Before she could press the matter any further, Levi tossed a rag towards her.

"There is dust around those ladders."

Levi did not have to say anything else. For the remainder of the night she helped him clean until his roommates returned. The level of perfection that Levi demanded was something the rumors had not gotten right. It bothered her for a while, but after getting a better understanding she was able to clean to his standards. If he cleaned like this every night, she wondered when he had the time to sleep, let alone even train. When they were done cleaning, Alise gathered up their supplies and took his cup away. Despite how tired she was, if he needed help cleaning in the future then she would be there to help him out. In time she would be able to say more to him. For now, it was just nice to be in his company.

Alise had barely gotten into her bed, when Sabrina climbed quickly into her bed. It was easier for them to talk in the dark this way. With them being close, they did not have to worry about disturbing their roommates.

"How was it?"

"It was not as bad as I thought."

"What all did you say to him?"

"Nothing if I am being honest. I brought him some tea and then we started cleaning. I know it sounds kind of boring, but it felt nice."

"I am sure it was nice. Like I said, you two would be cute together."

"Being cute together does not mean you are a perfect match."

"I know it does not mean that. Look at the facts, I heard other females say he was cute, but how many of them would do what you did. None of them have made him a cup of tea and none of them would lift a finger to help him clean. That right there gives you a leg up in the race."

"I suppose. That does not mean if one of them gets jealous they will not try my method."

"By the time they get jealous you will have a firm grip on that man."

"Do you remember who we are even talking about. I doubt anyone could get a grip on him."

"Nothing is impossible. I don't know what ideas you have going through your mind and I don't care to know. Just make sure they are unique to you and things are sure to go well."

"Thanks. Do you mind if I ask a question?"

"Just ask the question. No need to act shy."

"Are you really going to wait until after the expedition to give Tanith your letter?"

"Yea. If I give it to her now, I am going to be distracted while we are outside of the Walls. At least Tanith is safe in here. She can go through all of her feelings without any fears of messing up. When we get back, I will have more time to talk to her and no excuse to truly fall back on."

"You know what is best for you Sabrina. Just don't get chicken out when we get back."

"I am not going to chicken out. Anyway, in two days we leave for another expedition. While I want to sit up and chat with you, I need to get some rest. Captain wants to go over a few drills with us in the morning."

Alise allowed for Sabrina to ruffle her hair before she rolled onto her side and began to fall asleep. Soon Sabrina would have to give Tanith her letter. While she had been nervous to speak with Levi, Sabrina was possibly losing her mind. If Sabrina needed someone to talk to, Alise would be there for her. Instead of thinking about Sabrina, Alise found herself thinking about Levi as she drifted off to sleep. They had two more days, if time allowed it she would try to train with him. His methods were different than the others and they were highly effective. If she learned a few things, then maybe one day she could become a captain.


	6. Chapter 6

Two days seemed to go by rather quickly. One minute Alise was telling herself that she was going to train with Levi and the next nothing. The only thing Alise managed to do was watch him train. While she did not have the courage to ask him to train with her, she did not mind making her presence known. During those two days, only once did she make him a cup of tea. It was hard to tell if he appreciated her actions or not. Like the last time, he had taken the cup from her without any complaints. It was just a shame that she had not been able to make him any more tea. With the drills they were given and the day before procedures, she had no time. When they got back from their expedition, then she would make him more tea and would train with him. Alise was determined not to lose the bit of courage that she had managed to gather up.

As she rested in her bed, she ignored the commotion going on around her. The others in her squad were barely waking up when Xevera began shaking her. Xevera was already fully dressed and Sabrina was getting dressed. Those two were morning birds and she was not. Xevera was not going to allow her to sleep in. Today was the day they left the Walls and it was important that Alise got ready. Instead of arguing with her sister, Alise made her way down to the bathroom. Just as she stepped out of her room, she locked eyes with Levi. Her hair was a mess and she was sure she did not look pretty. While she wanted to say something, Alise gaze shifted to the ground as she hurried past him. She didn't know Levi was an early person. Now more than anything she wished that she would have just stayed in bed a bit longer. There was no turning back now. As she finished in the shower, others began to enter the bathroom.

"We are going into some dangerous areas, so you two need to stay on your toes."

Alise listened to Xevera's words closely and nodded her head. Xevera had been placed in the same squad as Hange much to Alise's disapproval. She did not understand why Commander Shadis separated them. Even when she tried to reason with him, he would not listen. He was a stubborn mule and one of these days he would pay for his stubbornness. The only person that Alise dealt with in her squad was Sabrina. Since she could not have her sister's back, she made sure to always look out for Sabrina. While they were good friends, some days she viewed Sabrina to be like a sister.

"We will make it back. You just make sure you and that Titan lover come back alive."

Sabrina did not seem worried as she spoke to Xevera. It was hard to tell when Sabrina took a liking to Hange, especially since she deemed her as being weird. It could have been the fact that Hange helped Xevera get out of a few tough situations. Regardless, Alise found herself agreeing with Sabrina.

"Xevera, you need to get back to your squad. We will be leaving soon and there is a lot that needs to be done."

Alise began pushing her sister out of the room as she spoke. Unlike other times, Xevera did not offer any resistance. Once Xevera was out of the room, Alise resumed getting ready. As she placed on her jacket, she noticed Sabrina was tucking something into her pocket.

"What is that?"

"I rewrote the letter again. I made sure to leave nothing out this time. When we return from this expedition, I am going to give Tanith this letter right away."

"You could just leave it here."

"Nope because then it will give me a chance to chicken out."

"What if you don't see her when we return. You still we get a chance to back out of it."

"I will not return to this very room, until after I have placed this letter in her hand."

Sabrina knew what was best. Instead of debating over the matter, Alise finished gathering her supplies and then moved towards the stables. As people passed by her, Alise hoped that she would get to see Levi again. She wanted to say something to him, but she never crossed paths with him. If she would not have been so concerned with her looks, then she could have said something earlier. It was not like what she had to say was going to be important anyway. He would have probably looked at her funny, if she wished for his safe return. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that it was best she did not run into him.

Despite what her brain said, she still did not stop looking for him. She had hoped to see his face when they exited the Walls, but she had no such luck. The only people she managed to see was Xevera and Sabrina. Just as they passed through the final gates, she heard Tanith wishing them a safe return. As Tanith's words floated around her mind, she wondered what Sabrina was thinking. Talking right now was a bad idea. Commander Shadis was a stickler for order and she did not want to end up on his bad side.

Talking outside of the Walls was not that easy. Besides having to worry about the commander, there was also her captain she had to keep an eye on. He was a bit too jumpy for her liking. Some days she swore she heard him telling his horse to be quiet. It was not that he was scared they were going to attract Titans, but he wanted to hear where they were coming from. Since the hoof beats were too loud, he used another method to keep his squad safe.

During their training days, Alise had learned that Sabrina had a knack for detecting things. Sabrina's true potential was not seen until their first expedition. The hair on Sabrina's arm tended to stand up in the direction of danger. Her hunting skills allowed her to be able to locate Titans with ease. When Sabrina combined those two skills, their squad was rarely ever caught off guard. It was no wonder Captain Fimmel had Sabrina ride close to him.

For two days they rode through the vast lands and encountered Titans here and there. She heard the large casualty report and wondered if Commander Shadis would order them to turn around. Some of the deaths she was hearing about could have been avoided, if the commander would have come up with a good strategy. No matter how many ideas were presented to him, the commander would not listen. Even after hearing such a report, he was not allowing the squads to pull in close to each. Spacing out like this was a good idea to him. Anyone with eyes could tell that this was a terrible idea. Alise's nerves only got worse when she noticed that they were riding into fog.

It was going to be dark soon and they had not been ordered to set up camp. The fog was not going away, and it appeared to be getting thicker. Everything about this was telling Alise that this was a bad idea. If she felt this way, she was certain that Sabrina and Captain Femmel felt the same way. They needed to set up camp or at least move closer to a neighboring squad. The sound of Captain Femmel's voice brought Alise back to the world around her.

Alise had not even noticed the messenger that rode up next to her captain. They two had been talking for a while and it did not sound like anything good. It was not her place to inquire about what was going on. In time the captain would share with them what he learned. What made the matter odd was the mixed emotions on her captain's face. It looked as if he was battling something and at the same time it did not.

"The fog managed to separate one of the squads from everyone. Commander Shadis has ordered us to go and bring that squad back. When we are done we can set up camp."

"It is getting dark. There is no way we will be able to find them and make it back safely."

Alise could not hide the annoyance in her voice as she spoke up. The fog around them was slowly starting to fade, but most of the fog had moved into the direction they were ordered to search in. Looking for any squad in those conditions were crazy. There were squads holding up the back that were sure to encounter them. If the commander had any sense, he would just wait for them.

"You heard the order, now move out!"

Debating with any of them were pointless. They would follow the commander's orders without any hesitation. They were brainless creatures in her opinion. While she wanted to say more, one look from Sabrina told her to drop the matter. The sooner they found this missing group, then the easier things would be.

"I am worried."

Sabrina's sudden comment shocked Alise.

"What is he not telling us?"

"The messenger said that someone from his group went to deliver a message to the missing squad over ten minutes ago. The messenger did not return but his horse did."

"Do you think they fell off?"

"Even if they did fall off, our horses are trained to return when we call them."

"If they are dead, then why are we going on this mission?"

"The commander would not say. From the way our captain is acting, I think he knows more than he is letting on."

"He would not use us for bait, would he?"

"It is not like we are going to save any Titans. Would it be strange for a commander to send off his people as bait, just so that he could survive?"

Commander Shadis was not that kind of person. He tended to have some kind of reason for any action that he took. It was just a shame that most of his actions were not successful. From the way that he had them grouped, it felt as if he was testing something or looking for something. It was hard to tell what exactly he was doing, especially since he did not voice his ideas to anyone. None of that mattered. Alise just wanted to find this squad or their remains. The sooner they did that, then the faster they could join the others.

In the direction that they were heading, it was as if the fog had decided to start moving slower. The terrain was slicker in this area due to the lack of grass. Even though it had rained a day ago, the ground made it appear as if the rain had stopped only hours ago. With the sunlight they had left, Alise tried pinpointing any type of footprints. There was no time to locate anything when Sabrina spoke up.

"Captain something is coming from the left."

"Move closer to the middle."

"There is another on the right."

Each time that Sabrina spoke up, Alise could feel her heartbeat increasing. She wished that Sabrina would stop talking, but she didn't. Finally hearing that something was in front of them pushed Alise close to the edge. Captain Femmel had ordered for them to stop moving. The only area that was deemed safe was the area behind him. Before any order could be given, a half-eaten body seemed to fall from the sky. As the body hit the ground a sudden scream caused Alise to jump.

The slow moving fog had finally moved enough so that they could see the ground clearly. Scattered around them was a mixture of blood and human body parts. There were a few dead horses but none of them had been eaten. While they had started to order their horses to back up slowly, it became clear to Alise what they had stumbled into. They were standing in the middle of a Titan's feast. If they would not have gone searching for this squad then the feast would have ended. With them present, the Titans could have a second meal.

A large hand reached around one of the few trees in the area and went for one of her squad members. The female had just managed to move her horse out of the way, but the person behind her was not lucky.

"We need to move to the left. The fog is less dense there and I guide us back to where we came from."

Sabrina spoke the words quickly and began leading them through the fog. The captain appeared to have no problem with the sudden change in power and she did not blame him. Sabrina had the skills to do what she had promised. With the way she was moving them, they had managed to avoid any more Titans. For a brief moment it looked as if they were actually going to make it back to the others alive. Just as they entered a mildly clear area, Sabrina brought them to a sudden stop.

Alise could feel the ground trembling beneath her horse. It was not the Titans behind them that was causing the immense tremors. Bursting through the fog was an abnormal Titan who eyes spoke heavily of its insanity and thirst for blood. Alise began searching the area for any trees, but it had appeared they left the safety of the trees behind. They were standing in a clearing which meant they were practically sitting ducks.

"Two Titans followed the abnormal one."

Sabrina words held to be true despite Alise wishes. Behind them three Titans were catching up and now in front of them there were three more. Commander Shadis had sentenced them to their death with his dumb thinking. If they kept changing directions in this fog, they were sure to get lose. It didn't matter if the land behind the Titan was going to be clear of fog. There was no telling where the other squads were, which meant they would be sitting ducks.

Alise grip tightened on the reins in her hand. Why couldn't the fog be moving in another direction? The mildly clear area was starting to change with the new fog that was moving with the advancing Titan group. She tried to tell herself that it was the last of the fog and once it passed them, everything would be okay. Who was she kidding, even if it was the last of the fog, the sun would not be up to guide their actions.

"We are going to force them into a group and then we are going to attack. Treat the Titans as if they were trees and remember to aim for their weak spot."

Captain Femmel tone was full of confidence in spite of the scared look on his. Alise followed behind him as he led them and when he began to stand up, she did the same. As the reins slipped from her fingers, she thought about Xevera. She hoped that her sister would be safe and that nothing like this would ever happen to her. More than anything she hoped that the death of her squad would nag Commander Shadis until the day he died. He had sent all of them on a suicide mission and one day he was going to pay.

A quick push on the trigger sent Alise flying back towards a 6m Titan. Without any trees to use, aiming was highly important. When the Titan started to open its mouth, she wondered if she had messed up her only attempt. Just as she was getting close to the Titan, Sabrina cut into its weakness.

"Here I thought you were the mighty one of the group. If you want see the others again, you better fight with them in mind. I remember why I am fighting, what about you."

Sabrina tapped the pocket where she had placed her letter. Alise offered Sabrina a weak smile and then it changed into a mildly cocky smirk. She knew Sabrina was scared and she was sure Sabrina knew of the odds that were stacked against them. Sabrina was choosing to focus on something else, despite the bad things around them. If Sabrina could convince herself to fight, then Alise could do the same thing.

Alise attention shifted towards a 7m Titan that had just snatched up one of her squad members. She was not fast enough to save the man but avenging him was all that mattered at that moment. It was the sound of her steel cutting into the Titan that seemed to ease her mind. While she dealt with the easier Titans, the captain and a few others began attacking the abnormal Titan.

The fog had been on their side for a brief moment and then it started to thicken again. Alise could still see what lay ahead of them and that was all that mattered. Nothing was going to sneak up on them. The fog had revealed their targets to them and now it was a matter of eliminating them. Before the fog consumed what was in front of her, Alise cut into another Titan and landed beside it as it fell.

Her ears had perked up when she heard an agonizing scream. Just as the fog cleared she noticed the abnormal Titan had their captain clutched in its hand. Captain Femmel was not looking into the eyes of the Titan. His attention was locked on something in the distance.

"Retreat!"

It was the final words her captain got to shot out before the Titan bit into him. As his blood showered down on the ground ahead of her, Alise brought her trembling hands up to her mouth. Her first attempt at whistling had failed. When she noticed two more advancing Titans, she found the courage to blow harder. She was not going to be fodder. She had to get out of her and she had to find Sabrina.

As her horse came into view, the abnormal Titan snatched up another one of her squad members up. The fool had been trying to run on foot instead of calling for his horse. When her horse got close enough, Alise jumped on rather quickly and urged it to move. She could hear the screams of people around her and it was driving her crazy.

"Sabrina!"

Where she found the courage to call for her friend, surprised even her. With all the screaming going on, she needed to know that Sabrina was still alive. It seemed that her words only managed to summon a Titan. As the Titan went in to reach for her, it suddenly fell face first into the ground. The cause of its sudden demise became clear when Sabrina rolled onto the ground.

"That is the second time tonight Alise."

"The captain ordered for us to retreat."

"I heard, but retreating was not that simple. Two Titans tried advancing on us while we were fighting. That was the last of the two, but I can tell there are others coming from the direction you left. That brings our count back up to three."

Alise did not have time to hear what Sabrina was saying. As Sabrina spoke, Alise reached down and snatched her friend up. They could worry about finding her horse at some other time. Right now, the two needed to get to safety.

"It appears as if our standoff has attracted more Titans. Who would have thought that we would shake up the nest this badly?"

Sabrina let out a light chuckle as she gripped onto Alise's waist. Alise found herself agreeing with that Sabrina had said. Normally when they took down Titans things calmed down. In this case, it appeared as if more were coming to take their place.

"Can you sense anymore around us?"

"No, the ones behind us appear to be the last of the group."

"Three Titans versus the two of us. The odds don't sound that good. If you want to fight, then we can fight them. I don't want to lead them back to the others."

Alise mainly thought about her sister. There was no telling where Xevera was. The thought of her dealing with Titans only to have more appear bothered Alise. She had to be brave and if she died right now, at least she knew these Titans would not reach her sister, or so she hoped.

"It looks like we have made it through the fog. Once we get through then we can turn and fight."

Fighting was the only thing they could do. Clear land meant that nothing could sneak up on them. They were going to stand a chance this time around. The Titans could out number them, but they were not all that fast.

Just as they moved to break through the last of the fog, a sudden impact sent the pair flying off of her horse. Alise did not have time to brace for the impact and when she smacked the ground, the force left her feeling daze. Her eyes moved towards the blade that had flown out of her hand. If she would have been standing like Sabrina, then she was sure she would be in a world of pain.

"Sabrina."

Sabrina staggered to stand up and the moment she did, she ended up stumbling forward. From the way Sabrina was acing, it was clear that she had broken something in her leg. The pain in Alise's head combined with her aching ribs caused Alise to drop to the ground. Her blade was not too far out of reach and yet she could not go for it. It was the sound of a Titan breathing that sent a chill down her spine. She wanted to fight, but her body was making it difficult.

"Get your hands away from her!"

Watching Sabrina fly towards one of the Titans gave Alise the energy she needed to move. From the way Sabrina had been moving it was clear that she was injured, but she was ignoring her injuries. There was no way that Sabrina could take on three Titans by herself. Alise had to join in to make sure their fates were not sealed.

As she gripped her blade, Alise forced herself to move towards another 7m female Titan. For a brief moment it appeared as if she was seeing double. When she shook her head, the double image finally merged into one. Despite the damage to her gear, she was lucky that it was still functional. Even though she could still use it, when it came time to strike, Alise failed. Her cut was a few inches off and all she succeeded in doing was causing the Titan a painless injury. If she could have gotten her vision to stabilize then she was certain she would not have missed.

Alise did not have time to reflect on her miss. While she had missed, Sabrina had not even come close to striking down her target. Sabrina's grip on her right-hand side appeared to be relaxed. Her grip was tighter on her left side, but she was applying more body weight to her right side. It was clear that Sabrina had fractured something in her right arm and had done damage to her left leg.

"Sabrina get out of there! My vision is starting to clear up. I can protect us."

It was not the full truth. Alise's vision had not stabilized and she was doing her best to stay alive. In an attempt to buy Sabrina some time, Alise sliced into the 6m male Titan's eye. A temporary blind point was all Sabrina would need to escape. When she went to target the female, Alise felt as if she had run into a tree. A Titan's grip was something she had never experienced before. It was vice like in a sense and if he squeezed any harder she was sure she would pop. Her body began to elevate off the ground and she realized the abnormal Titan had her in its grip. It was 12m in height and his size allowed her to keep an eye on it while she engaged with the others. Despite its crazy eyes, the Titan had not moved to intervene until now. Maybe it had been waiting for the right moment to move. Whatever the cause was, Alise did not care to know.

Soon Alise would be free of this world. While she was still in this world, she witnessed something she wanted to forget. Sabrina had finally succumbed to her injuries. Even though she was in the hands of the female Titan, the male Titan was not allowing her to be taken away from him. He had managed to bite into Sabrina's arm and her scream sent a spark through Alise's body. Sabrina was not fodder and she was not going to let her die that way. As the abnormal Titan began to turn its hand to position Alise, the spark that ran through her body finally set off an explosion.

Alise's blades cut through the Titan's fingers, but before she could target the female Titan, the abnormal Titan went to grab her with its other hand. If he was not going to let her go easily, she was going to kill it. During her fight with the abnormal Titan, Alise had failed to realize that Sabrina had stopped screaming. The realization only kicked in when she took down her target.

All that remained of Sabrina was the lower half of her body and the male had the nerve to try and bite off one of her legs. These Titans could be so greedy. They had already taken Sabrina's life and they still wanted more. She was not going to allow them to have any more.

Thanks to the abnormal Titan's height, striking down the male Titan would have been easy. Alise did not go for its neck. Instead, she cut into its belly and repeated the same process on the female Titan. Once their stomach content was on the ground, Alise finally moved to finish them off. She had no idea where the anger came from, she was just glad that they were dead. There was finally silence.

Alise moved towards the bits of Sabrina that had fallen out of the female Titan's hand. She could see the teeth marks from where the Titan had bit down and for some reason she wanted to touch it. Instead of touching her friend, Alise moved towards the two piles that came from the Titans' stomachs.

"I won't let them have you."

Slowly Alise began shifting through the first pile she approached. Some of the bodies belonged to the members of her squad, but she did not care about them. Her focus was on finding the parts that belonged to Sabrina. Halfway through the mess, she managed to pull out Sabrina's arm. She only knew that it belonged to Sabrina because of the bracelet that clung to her skin. Her arm was still attached to her damaged torso. From the bite marks it was clear that rest of her torso would be found in the other pile. Those two Titans actually fought over her like she was a piece of meat.

"I could not find your head, or the other parts, but I am going to keep looking. I am sure I just over looked them."

Alise made multiple trips into the first pile and when she was certain she could not find anymore, she began to organize Sabrina's body. Everything had to be placed perfectly, if she was going to find all of her friends missing parts. The first pile had been organized and she was certain everything would be found in the second pile. When she moved into the second pile, a familiar voice caused her to pause in her actions.

"Alise! You are alive."

Alise could hear the concern in Xevera's voice. It was cute in its own way, but she could not allow that to stop her. Before Xevera could step any closer, Alise motioned for her sister to stop.

"I just got to find her leg and the other parts of her torso, then she will be complete."

Xevera had turned away to look at the remains of Sabrina. Alise noticed the look on Xevera's face, but it meant nothing to her. Sabrina had seen better days, but Titans could do to that to a person.

"We are leaving."

Alise looked away from Xevera and over towards Captain Kazinsky. She never really liked him, and she did not have to listen to him. He was not her captain and his orders meant nothing to her.

"You heard your captain. Get out of here."

"Alise I am not leaving you. Commander Shadis has ordered for us to return home. We have to go."

"Commander! Ha! He does not deserve that title. I already told you that I am not leaving."

"Why are you doing this?"

Alise resumed searching through the pile, not caring how dirty she looked. She had to get everything in order and then she was going bundle Sabrina up and bring her back to town.

"Alise I am talking to you."

"I am trying to focus; can't you see that. This is all my fault and I am trying to make things better. I doubt Tanith will even be able to look at me, even if I do bring her back."

Alise allowed for Xevera to pull her out of the pile. Despite her mess, Xevera was still holding her as if she was clean. The sudden warmth was enough to make Alise cry.

"It is my fault. I hesitated too many times tonight. She would be alive if it had not been for me. She fought through her pain and I just gave into mine. That is the reason she died. She was defending me despite her injuries."

Xevera's grip on her face did nothing to stop her from crying. Alise could not even look her sister in the eye as she spoke. She did not deserve to be alive. It should have been her that lost her life.

"We all are not perfect. I am sure you did your best to save her. Staying here won't make things better. We need to leave with the others."

"She was Tanith's cousin. She was going to give her a letter explaining everything. I cannot find the letter. I cannot even do that one thing for her."

"We can just both talk to Tanith when we get back. There is no need for you to worry about that. I doubt Tanith is going to blame or hate you for what happened."

Alise had started to allow Xevera to pull her away, but then suddenly stopped. She yanked away from her sister and moved towards Sabrina's remains. Looking into half of her face was eerie, but it did not stop her next actions. Slowly she pulled the bracelet off of Sabrina's arm.

"I will give this to Tanith for you. You will live on through this."

Alise wanted to tell Sabrina that she was free of that burden. As she held the bracelet in her own hands, it felt as if she was holding a boulder. When Xevera kneeled beside her, Alise placed the bracelet into her hand.

"You have to give this to Tanith. Don't tell her about Sabrina, that is something I will do. I just need some time. Promise me you will just give her that. Say Sabrina wanted her to have it. Tell her anything, just make sure she wears it every day for the rest of her life."

Alise closed her sister's fist around the bracelet and did not let go until Xevera promised her. With those words in mind, Alise released her grip and allowed Xevera to guide her away. With each step she took away from Sabrina's body, she promised herself that she would never be this weak again. Even if she was injured she would continue fighting like Sabrina did. She had to protect Xevera and Tanith. They were all she had in this world and they were the only thing she needed to focus on. Love and everything else did not matter. From now on, she needed to focus on the important things in her life.


	7. Chapter 7

Alise watched as Maya ran back towards their base from her daily morning exercise. Maya was determined to be better and Alise respected her for that. Running around was not going to do her any good. Maya needed better training and Alise had a few ideas in mind. Those ideas were going to have to wait for when she returned from seeing Hange. Xevera had insisted that she look at the Titans that they had caught. While she wanted to tell her no, after the other day, she figured it was best if she just went along with it all.

"What is so special about these Titans?"

Alise held a rather bored expression on her face as they rode towards where Hange was housing her new experiments.

"Nothing truly special about them. Hange is so excited about Sonny and Bean, that it is hard not to watch her."

"Why am I not shocked that she actually named them."

It was Hange after all, she had named the other Titans before them. Unlike her first experiment, these Titans were actually lasting a lot longer. Since they had not died, then maybe it was time for her to look them over. It would have been amusing if Hange found another weak point, but that was highly unlikely. A bit of her wondered if Hange would find anything interesting at all. They had been dealing with Titans for a while and she doubted there would be anything new.

The sudden sound of screaming forced the pair to move faster. It was not until they had reached the testing grounds that Alise noticed what was going on. Hange was the one inflicting pain to the male Titan and while he was screaming so was she. It was an odd sight to witness and she did not know what to say. Instead of asking Hange directly, Alise turned her attention towards Moblit. Out of her entire squad, Moblit was one of the ones she could tolerate.

"Moblit what is going on?"

"Our Squad Leader is looking for any additional weakness."

Alise made a quick grunting sound before she noticed Hange moving over towards the female Titan. She noted the tears flowing down Hange's face and shook her head. That woman could be a weirdo some days. Why anyone would cry over inflicting pain on a Titan was beyond her knowledge. If anything, Hange should have been smiling. When the female did not scream, Alise stood there just watching it.

During her time outside of the Walls, she had encountered a few Titans that screamed and ones that ignored any type of pain. As much as she hated to admit it, she was curious as to why some screamed and others did not. Pain was a human trait and these Titans were far from being like humans. They might have shared some similar features, but there were way too many differences. With all these differences and their lack of needing vital nutrients, why then did some of them have the audacity to feel pain.

The question had been bouncing around her head when she noticed the female tried to bite Hange. Moblit's quick response saved Hange's life yet again. One of these days, Hange's careless nature would get her killed. With Moblit around she doubted death would come any time soon.

"Hange you are acting reckless again."

Despite her nagging tone, Xevera had a smile on her face.

"I got lost in the moment."

"You are always getting lost in the moment. Anyway, did you discover anything new."

Where this eagerness from her sister came from was beyond her knowledge. Instead of interrupting, Alise followed the two inside of Hange's tent.

"The night experiment was a bit of a success. Bean remained active for three hours in the dark while Sonny was lethargic just after one hour."

"Bean was the one screaming his head off when you stabbed him in the eye."

Hange started to tear up when Xevera mentioned her harming Bean. Before the water works could start Xevera quickly placed her hand on Hange's shoulder.

"Don't cry, I am sure he understood it was for scientific reasons only. I bet he even knows you care about him. After all, you have been nothing but nice, up until today."

"I have been doing a better job than the past experiments. After the trial is over with tomorrow, Bean will have forgiven me."

Hange had perked up the moment she spoke about the trial. Alise had been told that the fate of Eren was going to be determined by Commander in Chief Dhalis Zachary. Alise had no problem with Dhalis and in some ways she admired him. He was a wise man and she was sure that he would make the right decision tomorrow.

"Since I am being dragged into the courtroom tomorrow, can I finally hear the plan. I have heard bits and pieces of it, but I need to see the big picture."

Alise had expected Xevera to speak up, but Hange jumped right in. It was something she should have seen coming since Hange looked rather excited.

"Commander Erwin wants the Survey Corps to be in charge of Eren. Us in charge of a Titan. Can you picture the amount of experiments I can conduct? There is no telling what we could learn from Eren. We may even be able to finally successfully communicate with a Titan."

Hange had clasped onto Alise's hands rather quickly. The pressure from Hange's grip caused Alise to wince. That woman held some inhuman like strength at times.

"Hange, you are getting off track. Focus on the trial right now."

Alise pulled her hands out of Hange's grip and began shaking them. Feeling was starting to return, and she was not going to allow Hange to get close again.

"If we are successful then Eren will belong to us. We can use him to turn the tide. Commander Erwin has this all thought out."

"Will Eren be a part of your squad?"

"I wish. Dhalis will not side with us, if I was placed in charge of him. Erwin is going to place Eren under Levi's watch. To ensure that no one is harmed, Levi squad will be given their own base. One that is equipped with a dungeon for just in case things get out of hand."

It made sense that Levi would be placed in charge of Eren. He was the captain of an elite squad and he could deal with someone like Eren. She could not help, but to think that it would have been nice to have Eren in their squad. Less people would surely die but controlling him would have been a bit tricky. Keeping him alive would have also been a problem since their squad members would be jumpy.

"It sounds like tomorrow is going to be interesting. While I want to sit here and listen to more about your future plans, I need to go."

Alise nodded to her sister before she made her way back towards their base. On her way out of the camp she noticed Moblit staring at her. She had noticed it before in the past, but she never chose to say anything to him. As far as she was concerned, Moblit seemed to have a higher interest in his Squad Leader.

"Moblit, are you still beating yourself up over almost losing Hange?"

"No, that tends to happen often when she is doing experiments."

"It is a good thing she has you around to protect her. You are very good at what you do. I doubted I would ever meet anyone that could do what you do with her."

Alise patted him on the back and stopped when she noticed him smiling.

"Are you getting ready to leave?"

"This whole experiment thing is not really my cup of tea."

"You are not curious about what can be discovered?"

"I am curious about some things, just not as curious as Hange is. If you all find out anything interesting, I will seek you out. I doubt you will break my hand while talking about any discoveries."

Alise flashed him a quick smile before she mounted her horse. If she could get back to her base in time, then she was certain she could catch Maya before she finished her daily training. Even if Maya was exhausted Alise was going to move forward with her plan. Tomorrow would mark the start of a new day for the Survey Corps and everyone had to be at their finest. There was no telling what would be asked of them if Eren joined their ranks. The ideas that filled Alise's mind caused a smile to spread across her face.

Maya was starting to head in when Alise finally arrived back at their base. She looked exhausted, but that meant nothing to Alise. Her training was nowhere near over and it was time to step things up.

"Maya, run in and fetch our ODM gear."

"Is everything okay?"

"More training of course. This time I will be joining you."

The excited look on Maya's face was hard to ignore. When the woman shifted from fearing her to appreciating her was hard to determine. It could have been Alise's little speech that changed her opinion, but she doubted that was the case. Her words had never moved anyone before and she doubted it would start now. All that mattered was that Maya did not have any fear in her eyes when she looked at her.

Upon Maya's return, Alise motioned for them to get moving. The sun was not going to be up for long and with everything going on, she wanted to get a good night's rest. Reese and Izo were on cooking duty, which meant there was going to be a nice size meal tonight. She did not mind the two competing, especially when it came to cooking. The benefits tended to outweigh the negative factors surrounding it all.

"Why have you been pushing yourself? You are up training before anyone else and then some nights you go out when you should be relaxing. Is the family member thing still bothering you?"

Even if it was still bothering Maya, that was something Alise was not going to apologize for. She meant what she said, and she would never take it back.

"I may never be a great family member. I just believe that I can make up for my actions by being a lousy vice captain."

"Suddenly aiming for my title I see. Well I won't make it easy for you."

Alise could not help but to laugh. While some people would feel threatened it was a bit of a compliment in its own way. There was no way Maya would ever take her position. As long as Maya had something to work for, she would be able to survive in this crazy world.

The ODM training course tended to be empty around this time. A lot of squads like to relax before dinner and she did not blame them. Captains tended to have their squads running drills in the morning. Even if a squad had come here, they were usually gone by now. The horses at the stables told her that someone had either just arrived or was going to be leaving soon. No matter the outcome, Alise was determined to get her training in today.

Standing at the base of a tree was Squad Levi. There captain was nowhere to be seen, but Eld was dictating their orders. Alise stood back and waited for the appropriate time to speak up.

"You all are just getting here. I was really hoping that you all would be leaving soon."

"Captain Levi wants us to do a few more hours of training."

Eld's words did not shock her. Levi was a demanding guy and what he said goes. He was in charge of the elite squad and he knew what they needed to stay on top.

"Do you mind if we run the course for a bit? It looks like you all have been out here for a while."

Alise had just finished talking when Oluo decided to speak up.

"We are using the course tonight. There is no way we would allow people from the Grim Squad to interrupt our time. It is best if you just stand back and observe."

"Oluo, you should stop trying to imitate him."

Petra was right to scold Oluo. While Levi could be arrogant he would not have insulted them in such a long fashion. Levi's insults tended to be short and packed a damaging ego punch. The only thing Oluo's words did was piss her off.

"Observing someone like you Oluo would teach me nothing."

"We are Squad Levi. There are a lot of things you could learn."

"Highly doubtful. Since you are rather full of yourself, then allow me to extend this offer to all of you. I have a rookie that I need to train today. The best way to train is from a hands on approach. How about the two of us take on the four of you."

"Are you trying to teach her how to lose?"

Alise waved off Oluo's comment. He was the one that clearly had a lot to learn.

"A lesson in humility is the only I will be teaching to day. Eld you should ready your squad, or do I have to tell the other squads that the elite squad is full of chickens."

"Eld, we don't have time for this childish game."

Gunther was known to be serious, but his words did nothing to change what would happen. Once Eld began speaking to the squad again, Alise turned her attention towards Maya. Maya looked a bit pale and it was easy to understand. Levi's squad was a bit intimidating. They fought in perfect sync without having to say a word. They had killed numerous Titans while her squad had a high death rate. The two squads were exact opposites of each other and yet Alise was not running from the challenge.

"Just think of them as ordinary people. There is nothing special about them."

"Oluo has close to forty solo Titan kills. The others may be lower in solo kills compared to him, but they all have a high assist."

"They may have that, but what does it matter. Right now, the kills don't matter, it is about moving faster and cutting deeper than them."

"I don't think I can do it."

"You can do it. I saw the way you moved through that town when the Titan was chasing you. You are faster than at least two of them. Besides this matter is not up for debate. You are going to out maneuver two of them. If you cannot do that, then how do you expect to become vice captain one day."

Alise turned away from Maya when Eld spoke up.

"We are ready. We will start at on the ground and then move from there. The first person to clear all ten targets will be the winner."

"Sounds like a good plan. Just give me one more second."

Alise ignored Oluo's comment and looked back towards Maya.

"Just be faster than two of them and then everything will be fine."

Alise wanted to tell her to pass up Gunther and Petra, but she figured Maya would figure that out. The main person she really wanted her to pass was Petra. Petra and Gunther were not a threat to Alise. The only ones she cared about where Oluo and Eld.

When they reached the starting mark, Alise gave Maya a quick thumbs up before the match started. She noticed that everyone around her had taken off quickly, but she did not rush like them. They could soar high above the ground, Alise preferred taking things from a different angle. With all the people up high, gliding through them would be difficult. If she stood any chance of winning, she had to strike from below. Without giving the matter another though, Alise aimed for the mid sections of the trees and began moving towards her first target.

It did not take long to pass up Gunther. Maya was close on Gunther's tail and she was certain that Maya could pass him up before the third target. With the way Petra was moving, it would take Maya until the sixth or seventh target to even get close to passing her up. While it would take Maya a nice time to reach Petra, Alise had shot by her before she could strike her third target. Taunting Petra had not crossed her mind. The only person she cared to taunt was Oluo. Even though she had passed up three people, Alise was determined to stay in the middle of the trees.

The fifth target was coming into sight when she noticed Oluo going for the strike. There was no way she was going to allow him to strike before she did. Just as he was going in, Alise shot up from beneath him and ran her blade through the target.

"How did you ma…"

Seeing blood squirt out of Oluo's mouth caused her to shake her head. When was he going to learn that when it came to talking and working, he was terrible.

"Don't talk if you cannot avoid bleeding."

Childish as it was, Alise could not help but to stick her tongue out at him. He had learned his lesson, but if she was going to be a good teacher, she needed to catch up to Eld. The whole point was to take down Levi's squad. Coming in second place was out of the question. If anything, it would have made her look like she did not know what she was doing.

Before Eld could reach the eighth target, Alise closed in on him. She had allowed herself to drop low only so that she could propel herself forward better. It was a technique that she had seen in the past and added her own touch to it. Instead of using gas to move herself forward, Alise flung herself forward as if she was in a sling shot. The gliding felt nice and when she reached a certain meter, she used her gear once more. A kick of gas helped give her the edge she needed, and she founded herself cutting into the target and few seconds before Eld.

The only thing that mattered now was maintaining the lead. Eld had tried to get a head of her a few times, but Alise was not allowing him the pleasure. She altered techniques to give herself a better edge until she finally secured her victory. Once the last target was cut into, Alise landed on the ground. The group had ended up back at the starting line, but her victory was not important. Alise's eyes stayed glue on the tree tops in search of Maya. Oluo had landed not too long after Eld. The battle for fourth was a tight race. Maya and Petra were neck and neck, but Maya was not backing down. At the last second, she managed to land on the ground right before Petra did.

"Good job Maya."

"Captain I didn't do that well. She beat me to the last target."

"In that matter you came in fifth. I never said you had to beat her in that regards. I just said be faster than two of them. You passed her up when it mattered the most."

Just as she finished complimenting Maya, an unexpected comment caused her to turn around.

"Pathetic."

Levi's comment was to the point. While she had thought he was speaking badly about Maya, she noticed that his attention was on his squad.

"Sorry."

Petra had been the first to speak up and the woman did not look happy that she had disappointed him.

"Squad Leader Levi, your squad was tired. We just took advantage of their weakness. Any other day I am sure they would have passed the two of us up."

Why she was suddenly taking up for them was beyond her knowledge. Some of her just did not want to see them getting yelled at. No one could be perfect all of the time.

"I am sure if we do it again, we will pass them up. I have more energy now."

Alise listened to Oluo's words and let out a low grunt. Even if he was fully energized he would not be able to pass her up. Her pride would not allow her to fall to him, and her skill would always guarantee her victory.

Even though she wanted to walk away, Alise could not allow herself to leave on this note. She had to do something to boost his squad's ego. After all, they were the elite squad and Alise did not need them second guessing themselves.

"Here I thought you said Xevera's squad was full of worthless people. All I am hearing is excuses from your squad. I wonder if this stems from their captain."

The look Levi gave her sent a chill through her body. While she should have felt intimidated she could not help but to smile. She had experienced his looks in the past and they were not going to make her take back her words.

"That does nothing to me. If you want me to change my opinion then let's run the course. If you lose then maybe I will tell Commander Erwin that Xevera is a better fit for Eren."

That was the final insult that pushed Levi a bit over the edge. The only positive side that she saw was that she was not about to spar with him. With what she had said, she was certain he would have broken her nose or even her ribs. While he would have done some damage to her, she would not let him walk away unharmed. Time on the streets had made her tough and the Training Corps only added to her technique.

Once they were at the starting line, Alise did not allow Levi to get a head of her. She stayed close at his heels until they had vanished into the trees. When she was certain that they were out of sight, she began to slow up. It was best if he won this for his squad. Maya would not think any different of her and even if she did, Alise did not care.

After the third target, she had lost sight of Levi and figured that he was far in the lead. Only when she was certain that she would not see him, did she allow herself to speed up. Before she could reach the fifth target, she noticed Levi was perched on the side of a tree with an unamused look on his face. His expression forced her to perch on a tree across from him to hear what was going through his mind.

"You are actions and shameful. What do you think you are doing?"

"I am allowing you to win. Your squad needs their ego to be boosted if they are going to continue to perform well."

"Throwing a race won't boost anyone's ego."

"I didn't say I was trying to boost your ego. I am just looking out for your squad."

"My squad is for me to worry about. Their loss is their own fault. If you want to do anything for them, allow them to learn from their mistakes."

She was babying his squad in a sense. Throwing a race would not make them better people. While she hoped it would, she should have known better. The best lessons sometimes came from being defeated.

"Fine, I will give you a race."

"Stop holding back. I want to see why Commander Erwin gave you a high recommendation."

Alise knew what Levi was talking about. Commander Erwin had spoken to her a while back about joining Squad Levi. It was a high honor, but she could not bring herself to leave Xevera. She needed to protect her sister all the time. On top of that, she doubted her nerves would even allow her to be that close to him. This mild race had caused her to feel a bit nervous and she was not even close to him. Hearing that Levi wanted to see what she had to offer, meant that she could not disappoint him.

"I won't go easy on you Squad Leader."

Instead of allowing Levi to move first, Alise took off. It came as no surprise that Levi had managed to catch up to her. She had only maintained the lead for one of the Titans. Whenever she felt like she would strike first, Levi was there. The techniques she had used earlier were not helping her get ahead. With the challenge he had offered her, Alise was not going down easily. Levi had beaten her to the last target, but she was determined to land at the finish line first. Matching his speed was not that hard of a challenge, getting in front of him was the true challenge.

A sudden opening forced Alise to give it her all. She had been on her way to land on the ground first when Levi suddenly appeared in front of her. There was enough time for her to maneuver out of the way. Levi's sudden move caught her off guard to the point that she forgot to move. Levi's feet had just touched the ground when she found herself slamming into the side of him.

"Alise!"

"Captain!"

Their bodies had begun to roll on impact and when they finally stopped, Alise found herself on top. This was the last time she figured that she would ever be on top. As she moved to sit up, she noticed that she was straddling him. Her eyes moved over his body and then up to his face. Levi did not look please, but she was certain that he could have looked angrier.

"This is your own fault."

Alise had not moved to get off of him. This position was not all that bad. From here she felt like she was in control. Finally, she was able to dominate Levi, even if it was by sheer accident.

"Don't blame your mistake on me."

"It is not a mistake if I am on top."

No sooner had the words left her mouth, Alise found herself being tossed onto her back. Her eyes looked up towards Levi and she got the message. It was clear that he did not like being dominated. Even if she did manage to dominate him, it would be because he allowed it.

"Captain are you okay?"

Petra had not bothered to hide the concern in her eyes. His other squad members did not seem all that worried and she wondered if she was missing something. Instead of reflecting on the matter, Alise turned towards Maya who offered her a hand up.

"Thanks Maya."

"That was pretty cool Alise. Not a lot of people have been able to knock Levi onto his back."

"I doubt something like that will ever happen again. Always remember that someone from our worthless squad was able to put him on his back. Since your training is done, I think it is best if we head back to base. I am really hungry, and you need to shower."

As Alise parted from the training area, she took one last look at Levi. She didn't know when he started watching her and she did not care. Her decision to not join his squad was wise. Xevera was right, she had not gotten over her crush. The minor contact reminded her that she still liked him. More than anything she had learned that his body actually felt nice. While her mind wanted to wonder back to being on top, she stopped herself. It was better to remember that she was one of the few people that managed to get him on his back. Mistake or not, it was an achievement that not many people had. If she really wanted to brag about it, she needed to do it during a sparring match. Despite the damage he would do, dominating him again was too tempting to pass up.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Misun Sait
> 
> Age: 33
> 
> Occupation: Officer (Military Police Brigade)
> 
> Appearance: Misun has short black hair that he keeps trimmed lower in the back. He has brown eyes. He stands at 182cm, weighs 84kg, and has an athletic build.
> 
> As I have stated before I don't own any characters from Shingeki no Kyojin, they all belong to the lovely Hajime Isayama. The only characters I own are the ones I made up. Also, I did not make the image I am using. That image was found online and all rights belong to original designer.

"Let's go!"

For the first time, in a long time, Alise had actually beaten her sister in getting ready. There was a lot at stake today and she was determined to see what was going to happen to Eren. She wanted to be there when they walked him into the courtroom. Being late was unacceptable. Based off of what she had gathered the night before, most of the Survey Corps would be there, along with the Military Police. If the Military Police were there, that meant that Misun would be there as well.

Misun was Xevera's lover, despite what her sister liked to say. The two had an on and off relationship since the Training Corps. While they were in the corps together, Misun had always stayed by Xevera's side. It was rather annoying at times, but after a while Alise had gotten us to it. She had been foolish enough to believe that Misun would follow Xevera wherever she went. Instead of joining the Survey Corps, he used his position to find security in the Military Police Brigade. She had heard that Misun thought Xevera would join him, but her sister had other plans. The fact that he wanted to stay safe and she wanted to be reckless never did their relationship any good. Despite its flaws, somehow the two always managed to get back together. Her sister had never taken an interest in anyone else and Misun kept his eyes on Xevera.

Their relationship was cute in an odd way. While Alise would be focusing on Eren, she also was going to be watching her sister and Misun. Those two would surely be making a lot of eye contact despite them being on another one of their so-called breaks. No sooner had the two arrived at the court house, Misun was standing there waiting for them.

"Your Commander is inside."

"I know that."

Xevera had continued walking as if he had not said anything to her. Some days her sister could act cold despite what her heart said. When Alise went to do the same move, Misun grabbed her by her arm.

"My captain is in need of my presence."

"Cut the crap Alise. What is wrong with her?"

"I don't know. Maybe you should have checked on her when we returned."

"I did check on her when you returned. I wrote to her and when she did not respond I left my post to see if she was well. I was worried that something had actually happened to her."

"If something happened to her, I would have told you. I am not heartless enough to leave you in the dark."

Misun released his grip on Alise's arm and let out a defeated sigh. She could not help but to feel bad for him.

"You need to stop beating yourself up. You two will be talking again in no time. Just give her some time and she will come around."

"Alise the thought of losing her drove me crazy. I don't want us to argue anymore. I don't want to wake up and not have her by my side."

Alise quickly covered his mouth before he could begin his next sentence. She had a feeling she knew where this was going, and she didn't want to hear any more of it.

"Look you love struck puppy. All the things you are saying to me are things that you can say to Xevera after this trial. We both need to get inside before we miss anything good."

Checking to see if Misun followed behind her was not important. Xevera was not in the hallway and when she entered the courtroom, she spotted her sister standing beside Hange. Instead of moving close to her sister, Alise stood beside Levi. Standing anywhere else would have limited her sight to the action that was going to unfold. The moment Dhalis began talking, Alise found herself tuning out everything around her.

The tension in the air was strong. A bit of her wanted to pull her on collar to relieve some of the pressure, but Alise stood still. Her eyes shifted over towards the Military Police when Dhalis mentioned them as another possibility. If they got a hold of him she was certain they would kill him. The Military Police was full of cowards and she had no respect for them. The Survey Corps was a better place for Eren. He would be used properly and be supervised by the best of them.

Hearing Chief Nile Dok speak about what their plans were caused her eyes to narrow. They were still full of a bunch of chickens. Eren was not an animal and he did not deserve to be dissected. After what he had done, the Military Police should have been fighting to keep him alive. The cowards allowed their nerves to get the best of them and they failed to see the bigger picture. She wanted to call every last one of them a steaming pile of chicken shit, but she remained silent. The more Nile spoke, the more she found herself hating him. He spoke of Civil War and Eren being a hero. Yet he still had the nerve to propose that Eren be used as a martyr. The nerve of those people.

Minister Nick was another coward in her mind. She hated what he stood for and found all of his followers to be mindless monkeys. If someone was to exterminate the entire organization then she would not be mad. Their beliefs were stupid and the people in charge were a lot worse. Alise was grateful that Dhalis told him to stay silent. His opinion did not matter here and it never would have any weight in her mind. The only words that mattered came from Commander Erwin. Commander Erwin was a wise man and using Eren to take back Wall Maria was a wonderful idea.

The commotion that followed next was a bit entertaining. Commander Pixis had her respect, while the next man that spoke did not. It seemed as if the other side of the room was full of morons. Try as she might, she could not hide her smirk when Levi called one of the men a pig. This was all too perfect for her. Her smirk fell away as the trial continued. She never expected Eren to be mentally stable as a Titan. If he was mentally stable, then she doubted they would be here. Attacking Mikasa was interesting to hear. While he could have killed her, he did not. There was some kind of leeway there. Such a leeway was not enough to calm the room.

When Eren started to talk, things only got worse. Cowards were always ready to jump over the smallest thing. Her eyes stayed glued on the man that dared to grab a gun. Before Nile could order for anything to be done, Levi made his move. Watching Levi was in its own way, amusing. He had a sadistic side to him, that was for sure. No one could ever say that Levi showed mercy. She doubted that he even knew what that word was. The beating he unleashed on Eren was hard not to watch. When he was done, the message he delivered was clear. His actions combined with Commander Erwin's word was strong enough to secure them a victory for the day.

As the courtroom cleared out and Eren was taken into a room, Alise found herself being stopped once more. This was her chance to finally see Eren up close and Misun was stopping her.

"What do you want this time. Don't you have a duty to perform. I am sure you cowards will be conducting some kind of meeting soon."

She did not care if her words angered him. He was getting in her way and she was ready to go.

"Make your sister come out of that room. I need to talk to her."

Alise was going to point out that he could knock on the door, but that was pointless. Xevera would just end up ignoring him. When Xevera ignored him, Misun would just start bothering her again.

As Alise entered the room she noticed that Levi was sitting next to Eren. Her interest was fully sparked as she took Eren in. He was a still a kid in her opinion and yet their fate rested in his hands. When Hange moved towards him, Alise quickly kneeled by her side to see what kind of damage Levi caused.

"Levi, you really don't believe in holding back."

Alise could not hide her amusement as she spoke. Her attention shifted towards Hange when Hange mentioned that Eren's tooth was growing back. That fact alone was highly interesting. In this moment, Alise was starting to understand why Hange got so energetic about her discoveries. Before she could look into Eren's mouth, Xevera suddenly leaned on her causing her to drop to her knees. Her sister was using her head for some kind of leverage and it was slightly annoying.

"If you wanted to look, you could have just asked me to move."

"I get a better view from this angle."

Alise pushed her sister off of her head and began standing up. Alise thought about saying something else but allowed her attention to move back towards Eren.

"I pictured you to look a bit different, but I am not disappointed. Just try not to die on us. We got a lot on the line here."

Alise held a slightly joyful tone despite the dark look she gave him when she finished talking. If he died on them, the Military Police would never let them live it down. Thinking about them, reminded her of Misun.

"Since you all will be heading out, I think we should have a group dinner to celebrate our mild victory. It can be held at our main base so that everyone can sit comfortably."

Xevera's idea sounded nice, and she wondered if anyone would object. Before Levi could dismiss her idea, Alise chimed in to help her sister out.

"Squad Leader Levi, we will even make your favorite tea. You have nothing to lose when you think about it."

Hange tossed her arms around Xevera's and Alise's neck.

"I like this idea. It will allow me to do a bit more observations."

Just as Hange's grip was starting to tighten, Alise pulled away from her. Her attention turned towards Levi when he finally spoke up.

"Four eyes, you not be conducting any experiments or observations with him tonight. Peewee, if the tea is not good, you will be dealing with me."

"Peewee? Who are you calling short, half pint."

Levi was only an inch or so taller than her and he had the nerve to comment on her size. The thought of going upside his head had crossed her mind, but Xevera stopped her.

"You two can go at it later. Alise we need to start gathering supplies for dinner. Eren we will see you later."

They had just managed to step into the hallway when Misun rushed towards them. Xevera had started to walk away, when Alise suddenly stopped her.

"At least hear what he has to say. I would like to have some peace of mind tonight."

"Fine. Misun, I am giving you two minutes and then we have to go."

"You can be so cold at times Xevera. Regardless, I need to say this to you. I was worried sick when you did not reply to my letter. I thought something had happened to you."

"Why does it matter if something happened to me. Didn't you call me a suicidal nut the last time we spoke."

Alise glared at Misun but did not bother to say anything. It was best if she stayed out of this and allowed the two to get everything off of their chest.

"I was upset and I didn't mean to say that to you. Xevera, I don't want to live without you. I cannot make you join the Military Police and even if you did, you would not be happy. You are happy when you are outside of the Walls, despite the dangers that come with it."

"Your two minutes are up. Alise, let's go."

Just as Xevera turned to leave, Misun grabbed onto Xevera's hand. Alise noticed that he had dropped to one of his knees rather quickly. She hoped he was not going to do what she expected and yet he did. The others were starting to come out of the room, causing this situation to feel rather awkward.

"I don't care if you are crazy, I don't care if you have a death wish. Xevera, I love you. I love every inch of you and I won't stop you from being happy. I know that one day something may happen to you, I just want my last name to be on your death certificate."

It was an odd way to word a proposal, but it was effective. Even though it was clear that he was caring, Xevera did not seem moved. Xevera pulled her hand free of Misun and was starting to leave when Alise suddenly grabbed her. Without giving it much thought, Alise shoved Xevera into another empty room and slammed the door closed behind her.

"Now who is being the coward."

"What are you talking about. I just don't want to get married. I don't love him anymore."

"Liar!"

"Don't raise your voice."

"I will talk as loud as I want. Coward!"

Alise did not care that she was speaking loudly. She did not care if other people heard her. What people thought did not matter. Her sister needed to hear what she had to say.

"You tell me you want me to get over my fears. You want me to be happy. When you have the chance to be happy, you run away from it. The Squad Leader that is all about the good times and everything else, is scared to get married. I swear if you open your mouth and say that you don't love him, I am going to punch you."

"You wouldn't dare hit your captain."

"My captain is not a coward. I will be striking my sister in this regard."

"Alise you don't understand."

"Xevera I do understand. I loss friends just like you. Every last person in the Survey Corps has some kind of death wish. We may not want to die, but it is going to happen. Every time we go outside of the Walls, we risk dying. Death is normal, but it does not mean we cannot have a good time. You focus so much on the squad that you forget about yourself. I am your vice captain, I can worry about the squad. You for once, need to worry about yourself."

"Alise…"

Alise wrapped her arms around her sister and pulled her into a hug. When they were kids, Xevera had spoken about getting married. After they joined the Survey Corps that idea fell away. She knew Xevera still wanted to get married, but the idea of her leaving her spouse behind had mostly killed her dream.

"The man said he wanted his last name to be on your death certificate. It is not the best proposal, but it is still a proposal. Just get it over with."

Xevera stood in silence for a while. Alise could tell her sister was thinking and she was not going to rush her. If Xevera tried denying her feelings, Alise would continue to argue with her.

"You know if I say yes, then you will be sleeping alone for the first time in a long time."

"Good, now he can deal with your annoying snoring. If you are done stalling, get out there and make it up to that man."

Most of the group had gone away, but Hange was still there comforting Misun. Hange could be useful in her own ways. She was glad that Misun had not left the area. A slight nudge was all that was needed to make Xevera talk.

"I will take your last name. If you ever insult me like that again, I will hurt you."

Xevera held her arms out for Misun and embraced him the moment he got close to her.

"You two are so cute."

Alise nodded her head in agreement to Hange's words. She was ready to leave when Misun dropped another bomb on them.

"I know someone that is willing to marry us. We have to see him now before he leaves. I don't know when I will have more free time and I don't want to waste any more time."

"You had this all planned out! What if I could not have convinced her to change her mind."

Alise would never understand Misun's thinking at times. If he would have told her his plan earlier, she wondered if she would have been eager to back him up. While she was for them getting married, this soon was a bit of a shock.

"Well you did, and the rest does not matter."

Xevera's smile only grew when Misun took her hand.

"Alise and Tanith have to be there. Other than that, the moment won't be that special. Hange you are welcome to come as well."

"As nice as it would be, I need to check on Sonny and Bean."

Before Hange could move away, Alise spoke up quickly.

"Hange, can you please send word to Maya of the dinner plans for tonight. Tell her that the duo is in charge of cooking dinner and that we want everything to be spotless before the food is served."

Once Alise gave her request, she motioned for Misun and Xevera to get moving. Locating Tanith was never a problem. The thing about Tanith was that when she was not on her post, she tended to not be far from Commander Erwin's last location. Everyone knew about her crush on the commander. It was innocent and amusing to watch some days. Despite her strong crush, she did not allow it to get in the way of her duties. After promising to bring Tanith to the meet up location, Alise began running through the town.

It did not take her long to find Tanith. As she had expected, Tanith had been around the court house and was on her way home when Alise found her. She filled her friend in on everything that was about to happen and practically dragged Tanith behind her. In the distance Alise could see her sister. Xevera looked impatient, but when she saw them her look changed.

"You didn't want to put on a dress. Something like this only happens once in your life."

"Getting married in my uniform is an honor. Now come along, I have been waiting on you two."

The ceremony was short, but beautiful in its own way. Her sister glowed in such a mesmerizing way. Once the ceremony ended, reality set back in. They had a dinner to attend as a group. It looked as if Xevera was going to be staying with Misun for a few nights, until they found a better place. One that would not keep her far from her squad. In the time that she was going to be away, Alise was going to do her best to keep everyone in line.

"Dinner will not be ready for a while. If you all want to make this marriage official, I heard of a nice place not too far from here."

Alise ducked in time to avoid her sister's attack. As she made her way out of the room, she noticed that her sister was blushing. Xevera had slept with Misun before and she did not understand what would make this time any different. She had more important things to worry about.

On her way back to the base, Alise extended an invite to Tanith who eagerly accepted it, despite knowing that she had an early shift. She should have known that Tanith would never pass up on a chance at being close to Commander Erwin. When they reached the base, Alise aided in cleaning up the mess hall. Everything had to be perfect. Tonight was all about celebrating and having a good time.

It felt like people took their time in showing up, but when they did arrive everything felt better. True to her word, Alise prepared Levi a cup of tea and brought it to him personally. As the others socialized around them, Alise took a seat across from him. Her squad could worry about everything else. She had done enough, and it was time to take a break.

"Your lack of insults must mean that I did I good job."

"It is acceptable."

"Acceptable. I picked through those tea leaves to find the best ones. You could at least say it is good."

"It is acceptable."

Alise was not going to allow him to ruin her mood. He could be a bit of a jerk at times, but she already knew what she was getting herself into.

"Did I live up to your standards yesterday?"

Levi had paused in drinking when she asked her questions. His gray eyes seemed to be looking straight through her. While she should have felt intimidated, she could not look away from him.

"Why are you wasting your talents?"

"I am not wasting my talents. I have actually been improving since my last talk with Commander Erwin."

"You are stagnant. The spark the commander once saw has nearly fizzled out and it is because of your own choosing."

"I am not stagnant. I train more than anyone I know, and my kills have gone up. Don't tell me that my spark is nearly gone. It is as strong as usual, and I would dare to say stronger than yours."

"You are lying to yourself. You hold back in your training and you hold back when you fight. In regards to what you asked, I am disappointed. You are nothing more than a waste of talent, in spite of the act you put on."

"Look here you runt. You may be a captain now, but I was around when you were just like me. These people can give you all the nicknames that they want, it does not matter to me. Come tomorrow I am going to make you eat those words. I am going to show you just how much I have improved."

Alise stood up abruptly from the table. She had thought about returning to her room, but she was not going to allow Levi to ruin her mood. Tonight was all about having fun. She was going to eat and chat with her squad. She was going to be there when her sister broke the news to everyone. When all the laughter died down, she would allow herself to return to her room and sleep. Come tomorrow, Alise was going to show Levi that he had been wrong about her.


	9. Chapter 9

Alise had managed to wake up before anyone, but this time she had not done so out of excitement. Instead her eyes moved towards the window and she glared at the sun. The words of Levi still ran through her mind. He dared to say that she was a waste of talent. She was going to show him how wrong he was. No one got to speak to her like that without facing her wrath. While she wanted to bash his face in, she had other duties to perform first. With Xevera away, the responsibilities of getting everyone up and ready fell on her lap. Some would jump at such an honor, but Alise was not in the mood for it. Even though she was not in the mood, she knew of one person that would be eager to take charge.

Instead of starting her hygiene routine, Alise made her way down towards Maya's room. Maya shared the room with Vanessa and the other empty beds belonged to the scouts that they had lost. Just looking at their beds reminded her of the dangers they all faced when they went beyond the Walls. Focusing on their deaths was not why she came in here. When Alise neared Maya, she tapped Maya's head a few times to wake her up.

"I need you to ready the squad for their morning training. We need to work on moving as a team and the perfect place is the ODM training course. No one is to eat until after our training is complete."

Once her message was given, Alise made her way into her room and quickly dressed. Washing up could wait until later on. Right now, she wanted everyone up and ready. Vanessa was going to be the only person that observed from the sidelines. Until her arm healed, she would be staying behind while the others went beyond the Wall. In some ways she wondered if Vanessa was the lucky one of the group. Despite how dangerous it was out there, Alise was not big on being left behind. As long as she could function, she would always opt for going on expeditions. After all, she could not trust any of the others to keep her sister safe.

It did not take her squad long to get ready and when they reached the training course, Alise motioned for Reese and Izo to go up first.

"You all will be working as a team to take down as many Titans as possible. While people prefer to brag about kills over assist, assist are just as important. If a person was not there to assist you then you would not have that kill."

"Is this training supposed to make us better Titan slayers?"

Alise looked over Elijah when he finished speaking. Of course, he would be the one in the group that did not see the bigger picture.

"When partners work together, they are like a well-defined machine. While it would be nice for this entire squad to be in sync, that is asking too much. If you can read your partner, then we should be able to suffer less deaths. I could care less about the kills and the assist, we are not Squad Levi. What I care about is not being called the Grim Squad. If getting you all to move together in some ways helps, then so be it."

"Why can we not just learn how to run away?"

Alise placed a hand on Elijah's shoulder and squeezed it lightly.

"We are not the Military Police Brigade. We don't run from danger, we attack it head on. If I ever see any of you all trying to flee an area before the command is given, I will track you down and kill you."

The Survey Corps was not made up of cowards. Everyone knew what they were getting into the moment they joined. With all of Elijah's questions out of the way, Alise motioned for Reese and Izo to start. It came as no surprise to her that the two were acting as if they were in competition with each other. She had thought about scolding them but stopped. Their methods worked for them and that was all that mattered. After the duo finished, Alise assembled a group together that consisted of Maya, Azriel, and Zamon. She was not completely pleased by their performance and was going to need to make some changes to them. Since Doran could not train with Vanessa, Alise took her spot and pulled in Elijah.

By the end of their training Alise felt as if Maya would make a suitable match for herself. She would never place Maya at her side since she had Xevera. In the end, Maya was placed into a group with Doran and Vanessa. While Elijah was added in with Azriel and Zamon. Reese and Izo worked better together and she saw no point in even trying to mess up their flow. Alise was not completely satisfied with her work, but it was going to have to do for now. The groups sparring regimen would show her if she needed to do any more changes.

"That is all the training we will be doing today. You all may head back and eat. Make sure everything looks neat for just in case Xevera pops in. I don't need her yelling at me about anything."

"You are not coming back with us?"

Alise climbed onto her horse and looked down at Maya when she spoke to her.

"There are things I need to take care of. If things are not in order when I get back, I will be coming for you."

Alise nudged her horse and took off away from the group. She had overheard Hange speak of Levi's new location. It was a nice ride away and the longer it took, the angrier she felt. He had a lot of nerve speaking to her the way that he did. As she pictured his face, Alise's grip on the reins in her hand tightened. By the time she reached Levi's new base, she was nearly seeing red. Xevera had told her that it was never good for her to allow her temper to get out of hand. Xevera was not here to calm her down and she was glad. While she liked Levi, there was a lesson that he needed to learn.

Levi's new base was a bit spacious and it was perfect for keeping Eren. Commander Erwin truly knew what he was doing. Instead of standing back and marveling at it all, Alise began to move inside of the base. She did not bother to speak to Eld or Oluo when she passed by them. Despite her anger, she had to admit that they did a good job at cleaning up the place. There was no telling how dirty it had been. With Levi around, there was no amount of filth that he could not tackle. As she rounded another corner, Alise stopped when she spotted Petra.

"Where is your Captain?"

"What do you want pipsqueak?"

Alise turned on her heels and glared at Levi. While others would have been intimidated by her look, Levi did not seem fazed. His hooded gaze seemed to show that he was bored more than anything.

"I am issuing you a challenge. You said that I am a waste of talent and I am here to prove you wrong."

"I am not in the mood to go to the training course."

"We will not be going there. I think a quick sparring match will do just fine."

Alise noticed the worried look that Petra made, but she did not care. She knew all about Levi's fighting style and it did not bother her. He may have come from the Underground, but that meant nothing to her. Living on the streets behind Wall Maria had been rather tough. Xevera and her had no district to call their home. They followed merchants from place to place and fought for any scrap they could get their hands on. Even though she was sure Levi had a tougher life, it was not going to change her feelings.

Once they were outside, Alise noticed Levi discard his cleaning gear. She did not care about his squad watching them. Today everyone was going to learn to give her the respect she deserved. The moment she was certain that Levi was ready, she threw the first punch. It took only a few swings for Alise to realize how fast Levi was. When she thought she had an opening, he always managed to move out of the way or block. While Levi had not managed to land any critical blows, the ones he did land hurt. She could tell from the way that he was hitting that he did not care about her gender.

Blocking Levi's attacks were starting to get a bit tiresome. Alise realized that his blows were designed to get her to drop her guard. It was something that Xevera had done to her in the past. There was no way she was going to give him the pleasure of landing a decent blow. It took a few side steps for Alise to finally find a good opening on Levi's body. The moment she spotted it, Alise slammed her fist into his side. She was certain that she had placed a lot of force behind the blow, but Levi did not seem fazed. The combo that he unleased afterwards, sent Alise tumbling backwards.

Alise allowed her tongue to travel over the blood that tricked down the side of her mouth. The only plus side was that he had not punched her in the nose. When Levi moved to land another blow, Alise wrapped her leg around his leg and twisted causing Levi to fall over. Instead of trying to wrestle him, Alise jumped up quickly and brought her guard back up. Her arms were throbbing, but she refused to give up. Alise decided it was better to wait for Levi to make the next move. When he swung at her, Alise grabbed a hold of his arm and quickly turned her body so that she could throw an elbow at his face.

As she went to move away, Levi grabbed ahold of the back of her head and brought her face down into his knee. The moment her face connected she felt the sting in her nose. With his grip on her hair, pulling away was out of the question. Since Levi wanted to keep her close, Alise decided to use it to her advantage. When he went to pull back her hair, Alise slammed her elbow into his gut and swept her leg behind his leg. The momentum forced them both onto the ground. When Levi released her hair, Alise grabbed a clunk of dirt and tossed it at his face. She had hoped that temporary blinding him would create some space, but she was wrong. She had barely managed to get onto her feet, when suddenly Levi slammed into her.

The force of his attack knocked the wind out of her and sent her flying back. Alise was doing her best to get away from him and thought that kicking him from the ground would be a wise move. Her foot had missed, and Levi managed to grab a hold of her leg. For a split second she thought that he was going to break her leg, but he did not. Instead, he pulled her closer to him and kicked her in the ribs. On his second blow, Alise grabbed a hold of his leg and twisted her body. There was no way that she was going to allow him to keep kicking her while she was done. The moment he hit the ground, Alise crawled on top of him and began punching him.

How Levi managed to land an uppercut while he was on his back was beyond her knowledge. The blow caused her to bite down on her tongue and soon she found herself on her back once more. Levi had not moved to stand up this time. He mounted her and slammed her head back into the ground. Alise knocked his hand away which earned her a blow to the side of the head. When he went to strike again she brought her guard up and did her best to protect her face. Each blow left her arms stinging and she was sure that there would be bruises.

Try as she might, getting Levi off of her was not easy. When she did manage to land a blow, she rolled away from him and got to her feet. By that time, it hurt to even keep up her guard. She had gone to throw a punch, only to have Levi knock her hand away with ease. His blow to her chest sent her stumbling backwards. She had barely stepped back when Levi grabbed a hold of her shirt and pulled her back towards him. She had thought that he would punch her again, but he didn't. When he released his grip, Alise stumbled away from him and stopped herself from falling onto the ground. Every inch of her body was aching and yet she still held a fighting look in her eyes.

"We are done."

It took her a moment to register Levi's words. While she wanted to argue that they should keep going, she stopped herself.

"Did I disappoint you again?"

Alise forced herself to stand up, despite the pain running through her body.

"I would only be disappointed if I went in expecting to be impressed."

"You got a lot of nerve. I don't need to impress you. I landed a few blows and that is all that matters."

"If that was your standards then so be it."

The more she spoke to him, the angrier she got. She wanted to punch him again, but if she did she felt as if he would have proved his point. She had not meant to say that landing a blow was her standards. All she wanted to do was prove a point and it looked like this resolved nothing. Standing in front of him was not going to resolve anything.

"Well Captain Levi, I thank you for the match, but my squad needs me."

Alise held her head up high and began to walk towards her horse. Despite the pain that she was in, she refused to show it in front of him. When she rode back towards her base she thought about how unimpressed Levi looked. Little did Alise know that she had actually impressed Levi. She was the only person that lasted that long in a sparring match with him. She was the only person that was able to land that many blows. Even after taking a beating, Alise still held a spark in her eyes and defiance in her walk. These facts were things no one knew expect Levi and because of this Alise could not help but to feel angry.

When she finally reached her base, Alise did not bother to speak with anyone. Instead she drew her own bath and allowed herself to sink deep under the water. The hot water did nothing to sooth her aching muscles. Alise could see that some of the areas were already bruising. It sucked that she was going to think about Levi every time that she looked at her arms. Before she could push him out of her mind, the door to the bathroom flung open and Xevera walked in. Alise had tried to place her arms under the water, but Xevera had already spotted it.

"What happened to you?"

Alise had forgotten about the marks on her face. Even if she would have placed her arms under the water, she could not hide her face.

"I was out sparring."

"With who?"

"Does it really matter?"

"Yes it does. Now who did this to you?"

"I was sparring with Levi. Are you happy now."

"You have a weird way of expressing your feelings."

"I was not expressing my feelings. He called me a waste of talent and I wanted to show him that I was not."

Xevera's sudden laughter caused Alise to glare at her. She did not see what was funny. Being called a waste was not amusing in anyway.

"Did you get all your laughs out of your system or do you want to keep at it?"

"I would not have thought it would have made you that angry. He has told that to Commander Erwin in the past. To be honest, he is not lying."

"I give my all to this squad."

"Alise, you give enough so that you can remain second in command. You give enough so that Commander Erwin does not try to remove you from my squad. If you were not worried about that then I am sure you would have passed me up."

"So what if I am, is it really that bad."

Alise had moved to cross her arms but stopped when the pain shot through her body.

"You are only stunting your own growth. I never said anything because it was not my place. You are not holding back the squad or getting in my way. If you really want to stop looking like a waste in Levi's eyes, then maybe get out of your way. Allow me to worry about the commander if he tries anything. I am sure if Hange or the commander said you were a waste you would not have gotten angry. If anything, you would have spent the whole day training."

Alise's narrowed her eyes and made no further comment. She had started to sink under the water only to have her sister splash her in the face.

"There is no turning back now. I suggest you climb out of the tub and come join the rest of us for dinner. When we are done, you and I are going to talk about this new strategy you taught the squad today."

Alise turned in time to catch the towel that was being flung at her head. She did not bother to move right away but remained in the water and reflected on what was said. Xevera was right, if Hange or Erwin said anything she would not have gotten mad. Being looked down on by Levi had really upset her. Impressing someone like him was going to be difficult if he thought that little of her. She was starting to hate herself for allowing her feelings to grow for him once more. When she stood up from the tub and looked down at her arms, she could only sigh. If she had trained more, maybe she would not have this many bruises. Starting tomorrow, she was going to start giving her all. While she was not holding her squad back, she hoped that one day she would get Levi to change his opinion.


	10. Chapter 10

I've got to move faster.

Alise rested her body against a tree in an attempt to catch her breath. The training course was still empty, and she knew no one would be around for a few hours. Despite that knowledge, she knew that she could not stay out here for long. Xevera would want her back by a certain hour so that they could run through the drills again with the squad. This time it was all about sparring which would make things a bit easier on her. The group didn't have to be up for another two hours, which gave her more time to work. While she had been out training for over three hours, she had still only managed to shave a second off of her record. If she could shave off three seconds, then she would feel rather accomplished.

"Let's make this one count."

Alise shifted her feet and looked up at the trees above her. Before she moved, she studied how each branch was. To truly be able to move through the trees, she wanted to use as few branches as possible. Every time that she had to stop to reposition herself, a second was counted against her. Rotating had helped her pick up speed, and possibly using pieces of the tree. The best method had to be using her momentum to her advantage. Being able to propel forward allowed her to glide with ease. If she was going to truly glide, then she needed to use as much momentum as possible. The placement of her hooks was crucial. Striking the tree to high would throw her off balance and too low would only slow her down. Alise tilted her head as she looked over the tree.

After studying the trees for a while, Alise pushed off of the ground. She did her best to avoid the trees and did not bother to go after any of the targets. This run was about finding the groove she had ignored so long ago. As she flung herself through the air, she felt a smile creep across her face. There was something in the way that she cut through the air that told her she had found something. When she shifted to use her gear, the air did not sound the same around her. Alise landed on a branch and ended the counter. Time was not important right now. She had found something, and it was all done by accident.

This entire time, she had been using her eyes in hope of finding a sweet spot. Using her eyes was not the correct answer. Feeling was the key to the problem. Her instincts had gotten her far in the past and after she lost Sabrina, she turned them off. If she was going to get anywhere she needed to get back to that point. Alise looked towards the course that lay in front of her. She had memorized every inch of it and her body knew when to react. Instead of finishing the area with her eyes wide open, Alise closed her eyes and took off. She listened to the wind that passed by her. When her body called to her, she fired her gear and continued moving forward. It took her a moment to find the sound of the wind that called to her. When it finally called to her, she made sure not to lose it.

The moment did not last long and before she knew it, she was landing on the ground back at the start of the course. Alise took a moment to catch her breath and looked up at the sky. She had no idea what time it was, but she was certain she was late. Xevera was sure to have her head for being late. Alise had promised Xevera that her personal training would not get in the way, and already she was breaking her promise. Adjusting her attire was not important, she would make sure to fix it during the ride.

Alise had just placed on her jacket when she heard the sound of hoofbeats approaching her. She had thought the horses would pass by her, but then came the sound of voices.

"Hault!"

Alise brought her horse to a stop and glared at the men that dared to slow her down. She should have known that the Military Brigade would get in her way. Dealing with them was not at the top of her list. If she did not get back to her sister, she was certain Xevera would have her head.

"I don't have time for your games. What is it that you want?"

"Watch your tone. You are to come with us?"

"On what charges?"

"For the murder of Hange's Titans."

Murder, now that was an odd phrase to use on a Titan. They killed Titans all the time, but she supposed this was different. Hange's Titans were crucial to getting a better understanding of how those creatures acted. While she found the way he phrased the matter to be odd, she didn't fully focus on that. These men clearly did not know her relationship with Hange. While she found Hange to be odd at times, she would do nothing like this to hurt her.

"You have the wrong person. I would never do anything like that. You all are wasting your time on me."

"We followed the path that the killer would take. You were moving rather quickly from the direction of the crime."

"That is your logic. If you must know, I just left the training course. It is just a coincident that we crossed paths. As for the speed, I was supposed to meet my captain a long time ago. That is the only reason I was moving that fast."

"You can explain everything once we take you in. Resisting will only make things worse for you."

Alise hated the cocky look that the man held on his face. She wished that she could have knocked it off of him but reframed from touching him instead. Reluctantly she followed behind the pair. The worse part seemed to come from the looks that the people gave her as she passed through. It was hard to tell what they were thinking, and she didn't care. While she wished she could have dropped her head, she would not allow it. Allowing her head to fall would mean that she was guilty. She had done nothing wrong and she was not going to allow them to think that. Despite what they said or thought, she was innocent. When the horse ride ended, Alise followed them into their building. Instead of being taken to a room, the pair shoved her into a cell and kicked it close behind them.

"What is the meaning of this. You said I would be questioned."

"When Commander Dok arrives, he will deal with you. Until then I suggest you get comfortable."

"This is how the Military Brigade works. You all are just as corrupt as the people whose boots you lick."

"You better watch your mouth."

"Sorry to offend you cowards."

Alise kicked the bars in front of her and allowed herself to sit down on the bed in the room. The men that guarded her paid her no further mind as they played their card game. While they played, Alise listened to them talk about the promotion they were sure to get. It was not until another man came in speaking about the soldiers and trainees being cleared, that she learned of the pairs name. The man that never spoke to her was named Gustavo and the other was named Eita.

"Could you all at least offer me a glass of water."

"Keep quiet."

Out of frustration, Alise grabbed a hold of the bars and began screaming at them. This was completely unfair. She was certain that there were rules that needed to be followed when it came to matters such as this. They were treating her as if she was some low-down common rat from the Underground. What made this day even worse for her was the fact that she knew what was to come when the sun went down.

Alise looked away from the pair and out towards the window. To think tonight was the Recruit Solicitation Ceremony. This was where the trainees decided where they wanted to go. She wanted to be there when Commander Erwin spoke to them. This was going to be a life changing choice for all that heard his words. From the ones that chose the Survey Corps, Xevera would be given the ones that held some promise. Commander Erwin never gave her the ones that lacked anything. When she thought about it, that was kind of amusing. Her squad tended to have the highest death rate and yet he still did not give them crap. It was hard to tell what was going through his mind at times. She was not going to question his choices.

Not being able to see his choices is what annoyed her the most. She had missed his speech in the past and now she was going to miss it again. This time it was because of the Military Brigade. Alise's knuckles started to turn red as her grip tightened on the bars.

"When will your captain be here?"

"How do you know I am not the captain?"

Eita spoke with so much confidence that Alise found it hard to believe that he could stand himself.

"Nothing about you screams captain. I am rather intrigued that you somehow managed to find a silent follower."

"I am not his follower."

Despite what Gustavo said, he did not sound all that certain. It was as if he was questioning what he was doing.

"Does lap dog sound justified or are you two a pair?"

Alise glared at Gustavo when he threw a cup in her direction. The contents ruined her jacket since the bars kept her from being struck by the cup.

"You were warned."

"Your warning means nothing to me. When I get out of here and speak to my Commander, you all will pay dearly."

"Your commander does not mean anything to use. It is you that should fear our Commander."

"I find it hard to fear anyone that finds shelter behind the Walls."

When Eita went to move, Gustavo quickly grabbed him by his arm.

"If the Commander comes soon then he will integrate her. If we want to insure our promotion, then we will need to get her to confess first."

Alise raised an eyebrow when Gustavo spoke. This whole time he had been the silent one. He was slow to anger, and she did not pick up on anything malicious. As she looked him over now, it was becoming clear that it had all been a part of his plan. She had thought that Eita was the mastermind behind it all, but she was wrong. Gustavo lack of emotion and silence was just a game. As he stepped towards her, she could finally see the well-hidden mad man. Even though she knew she was in trouble, Alise refused to buckle.

"You will get no confession out of me."

Gustavo adjusted his jacket as he moved towards Alise.

"If you know what is good for you, you will write up a confession and sign it. If you don't want to take the easy way out, then we will beat you into submission."

Alise backed away from the bars and motioned with her hand that there was nothing but space. Years of living on the streets taught her to never back down from a fight. She was second in command of the Grim squad. The soldiers in her sister's squad were sure to look down upon her, if she backed down. What troubled her the most was the thought of Levi looking down on her. When her cell door opened, Alise tossed her jacket onto the bed.

It came as no surprise that Gustavo did not make the first move. Instead he stood in the background and urged Eita to attack. Like an obedient dog, Eita charged at her. Dealing with Eita was far from challenging. His moves were predictable, and his hits lacked power. It was no wonder he chose to hide behind the Walls. If he stepped foot outside for one moment, she was certain he would not make it back. Knowing that she was stronger than him caused her to become slightly cocky. Alise slammed her fist into his gut and then brought his face down into her knee. The crunching sound that filled the air only brought a smile to her face. It was not the pain she inflicted that caused her to smile. As she fought them, she felt in sync with her body. Her movement took her back to a time when she was certain that she could pass Xevera up in a fight.

Before she could attack Eita again, she felt something wrap around her neck. Alise went to grab at the object, only to feel herself being lifted off of the ground. As she struggled to remove the cord from around her neck, Eita slammed his fist into her rib cage. Eita managed to land a few more shots before Alise kicked him away from her. Instead of going back for the cord, Alise balled her fist up and slammed it into Gustavo's groin. The slight buckle was all she needed to break free of his grasp. While she wanted to strike, Alise backed away to gather her breath. The stinging from around her neck told her that she would be left with a mark.

Once she collected her breath, Alise went back on the attack, this time starting with Gustavo. It was amusing that he tried to use the cord to strike her. When he went to strike again, Alise grabbed onto the cord and pulled him close to her. In an attempt to bring him down to her level, Alise stepped to the side and slammed her foot into the back of his knee. When he leaned over, she grabbed a chunk of his hair and slammed his face into bars. Before she could do any further damage, Eita rejoined the fight.

Alise continued to hold her ground and let out an amused chuckle when Gustavo went to attack her again. The longer she fought, the harder she found to hold back her anger. These men had ruined her day and she wanted them to pay. Unlike when she snapped on her sister, she had complete control this time. The anger she had bottled up from her fight with Levi and with Xevera was ready to come out. Alise jumped onto Gustavo's back and wrapped her arm around his neck. Her mind was screaming for her to put him to sleep. Her grip around his neck started to tighten when Eita grabbed a hold of her waist. Eita had pulled hard enough for her to release her grip. The pull also caused Gustavo to drop to his knees. While she was in Eita's grasp, Alise quickly wrapped her legs around Gustavo's neck.

Out of desperation, Eita had fallen to the ground in an attempt to pull her free. When his arm moved around her neck, Alise brought it up to her mouth and sunk her teeth into him. His screams were rather enjoyable, but she was not going to focus on that. Instead she continued biting him hoping that he would eventually let go.

"Alise!"

It was the sudden call of her name, that caused Alise to look up at the source. Standing at the entrance of her cell was Misun. She could tell that he was furious, and this was her first time ever seeing him like this. Alise released her grip on Gustavo and Eita did the same to her. As she gathered herself up, she listened to what Misun had to say.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"They brought me here under false charges. When I refused to write a false confession, they both attacked me."

Eita spoke up quickly when Alise stopped talking.

"That is not true. We caught her fleeing the crime scene."

"I was leaving the training grounds and you jerks said I came from the city."

"Gustavo, what do you have to say about this?"

"We caught her fleeing the city as Eita said."

"As your captain, was I notified of such an arrest."

"We had told the messenger to retrieve you and Commander Nile." Gustavo spoke softly when he addressed Misun.

"No, your message is directed to Commander Nile. If I had not run into your messenger, I would be clueless as to what is going on."

Gustavo moved to stand up but did not look into Misun's eyes as he spoke.

"We would not lie to you captain. We did send word to you. I wrote the letter myself."

"Did you all conduct a proper investigation?"

Alise's attention shifted from Misun to Levi as he stepped into the room. He held an unamused expression on his face. She wanted to ask him why he was there but decided to remain silent. Despite the question that was asked, neither man spoke up.

"Answer the question. Alise claims to have left the training grounds. While you had her here, did any of you go to check if her story was true."

Misun's tone grew colder when he addressed the pair again.

"We were going to once you all came here."

Eita's confidence was long gone. The look Eita gave Gustavo said that he wanted Gustavo to back him up or come up with something clever. Gustavo did no such thing and remained silent.

"A proper investigation was not done. If you would have done your job, then you would have learned that someone from the Garrison saw her at the training grounds a few hours before the attack. Your lack of diligence has only caused more tension to arise between our Divisions. You two are to head to my office now."

Levi made a disapproving sound as the two crossed his path. Levi's eyes then shifted towards Misun.

"These are your men. They say a lot can be learned about a captain by observing his men."

"These men don't reflect anything about me. I was just given them after my marriage. I respectfully ask for you to hold your judgement until a few months from now."

As Levi and Misun spoke, Alise gathered up her jacket and began placing it on slowly. She didn't care what the two had to say. She needed to get back to Xevera before the ceremony tonight.

"Thank you Misun."

"Hold your thanks, I am not the real hero. While I would like to talk to you, there are matters I need to attend to."

Once Misun was gone, Alise followed behind Levi. She had no idea what was going on, but she needed to know how he knew how to find her.

"Here I thought you hated me."

"I said you were a disappointment, I never said I hated you. Besides, I did not go out looking for you. You have Tanith to thank for that."

"Why would she grab you instead of Xevera."

"I was still in the city talking to Commander Erwin after the incident. She had no idea where Xevera had gone. While I told her to go find your captain, Commander Erwin said it was best I grab Misun. It was just a coincident that you happened to be captured my one of his men."

"What took you all so long then?"

"He had to conduct his own investigation to ensure you were innocent. Being family does not mean anything to him. His duty comes first."

Alise made a sound of understanding and followed him towards their horses. She had thought about saying something else to him but reframed from opening her mouth. When he was gone, Alise took her leave and headed back towards her base. She already knew that her sister was going to say something to her. When she entered her base, she was greeted by Xevera and Tanith. The look on their faces, caused her to give them a warm smile.

"I am okay, no need to look like that."

Alise tensed up when Tanith wrapped her arms around her.

"I thought the worse when I saw them bring you in."

"I would have been back sooner, but Misun did an investigation after he was notified."

Xevera shook her head slightly to disagree with Alise's words.

"It was not just Misun, Levi did one as well."

"How do you know?"

"I told her."

Tanith spoke up quickly and began to fill Alise in on everything that had transpired.

"I could not find Xevera, so I went looking for Erwin. When I found Erwin he was speaking with Levi. I told them everything that I saw, in hopes that Erwin could do something for you. With the ceremony being so close, he decided to place Levi in charge of freeing you. Levi was the one that went around trying to gather information on you. While he did that, I went around trying to find out who was in charge of the men that brought you in. After I got my answers, I tracked down Misun. I will say that when he heard it was you, he was not happy. He said an investigation had to be done since this was a sensitive matter. Levi had returned around that time and that was when I was told to come back here to let Xevera know of everything. Misun assured me that you would be here shortly."

Alise stood silently as she thought about what Tanith had said. It was the exact opposite of what Levi had told her. Misun was doing an investigation, but it was Levi that did all of the hard work. The Commander had told him to do the job, so what was the point of lying to her. All he had to say was the Erwin told him to look into the matter. He did no such thing and she wondered what could have been going through his mind. While she thought over the matter, she did not bother to say anything to her sister or friend.

"In the end I suppose it is you that I need to thank. It turns out they were going to go straight to their commander with false information. No matter, Misun is dealing with them now."

"If he knows what is best for him, he will show them no mercy."

Xevera spoke with her arms crossed. The look in her eyes said that she was not happy about what had happened. In an attempt to get them past the matter, Alise decided to change the topic.

"I need to change clothes so that we can get ready for tonight. It is a big night for us after all and I want to hear Commander Erwin's speech. Tanith, I think your captain will want you there as well."

"I was going just to hear Erwin. Tonight is my night off, so I am free to do as I please."

Alise should have known that Tanith would not miss a moment to be around Erwin. One of these days, she hoped Tanith would gather the courage to say something to him. Even if her friend did say something, she was sure that Erwin would not feel the same. In all of her years knowing him, he had never taken interest in a partner. She had heard stories of him bedding women, but that was as far as the story went. Maybe Tanith would be the lucky one or maybe she would just be another heartbroken woman. Tanith knew the risk and Alise was not going to get in her way.

"Since it appears that you will be leaving with us, excuse me as I go get ready."

It didn't take Alise long to get ready. Since this night was special, Xevera invited her entire squad to join them. There was no telling which of the recruits would be joining their squad, so all had to be treated with respect. Some would be able to see their siblings or other family members for the first time in a while. Alise just hoped that if any had any siblings, they would join the Garrison. There was no point in a family losing their offspring. She could not stop what people wanted to do. She had joined the Survey Corps for her own reasons and the others would surely have their reasons.

Once they left, it did not take them long to reach the area where all the recruits were gathered. Her squad moved away to celebrate in the town, while Alise joined Xevera off stage. From where they were standing, Alise could see all of the trainees faces. Some looked excited while others looked anxious. It was a common thing to see, especially since their lives would be forever changed. When the Commander began speaking, Alise found herself feeling slightly moved. Erwin made no real promises to the trainees, but he did give them an idea of what the future held. Reaching the basement of Eren's home was crucial and she longed for the day that they were free of Titan suppression. What the commander was sharing made her wonder what was up his sleeves. This man tended to always have a secret agenda in some way. It was like he was playing chess and only he knew where to place the pieces correctly.

Hearing about Wall Maria caused her to turn her head slightly. When he went on to mention that ninety percent of the corps had been lost in four years, Alise cringed slightly. She could still picture some of the faces of those that fell. On bad nights she could hear their screams echoing in the depths of her mind. This type of information was sure to scare away a lot of potential help. It was a risky move to make and she found herself questioning what the commander's logic was. The more he talked, the more she wondered about his sanity. He was not painting a promising picture and she could tell the trainees were not being moved in the right direction.

The fact that the trainees would be pushed out beyond the Walls within a month was something she was sure would break them. Erwin had already told them in a sense that a lot of them would die. If they did not die then, then they could die later on. He was not sugar coating anything. He was her commander and she assured herself that he had a good reason for this. When the time came for the trainees to decide what they would do, Alise could only stand and watch. She watched as most of the people turned to leave his presence. What surprised her was the number of trainees that decided to stay. Despite the grim numbers, these individuals were willing to place their life on the line again. They had seen hell before but experiencing hell outside of the Walls was something else.

Alise looked upon the faces of the ones that stayed behind. They were all young faces and they all looked rather nervous. She felt for them, which was something she rarely experienced. While she did feel for them, she knew better than to get attached to them. Getting attached would only cause problems. She could care for them, but that was far as she was willing to go. Those captains that got too attached over the years made bad calls. It was those type of calls that got them killed or their entire squad. Even though she knew she was not a captain, the soldiers in her squad still looked up to her. She was in charge when Xevera was away and because of that she had to keep a leveled head. One of these days she was sure she would be able to balance caring and not caring. For now, she would just continue to watch Xevera.

Hearing that there were thirty-five new recruits caused a small smile to form on Alise's face. These trainees were brave enough to place their lives on the line and she respected them for that. Now more than anything, she was curious to see who would be joining her squad. She doubted any would be placed in Levi's group since they were hand selected and had to prove their worth. As Alise looked over Erwin she wondered what plan was going through his mind. Before she could focus on such a matter, Xevera nudged her side.

"Come along, it is time we introduced ourselves."

Alise followed behind Xevera as she made her way onto the stage. Erwin had stood off to the side and Alise decided to stand by his side while her sister spoke. While she wanted to ask him some questions, she remained silent for the time being.

"There are so many promising faces out there. I am Captain Xevera and some of you all will have the privilege of being placed in my squad. You all may not know this, but I am in charge of the infamous Grim Squad. We have the highest death rate out of all of the squads, but that does not define us. If you are placed in my squad, know that I will look out for you until your final breath. When I am not standing by your side, rest assured that my second in command, Alise, will be there to support you. We may have the highest death rate, but we don't go down easily. Your will and determination will determine if you become another statistic or if you will defy the odds."

Alise saluted the new recruits with her sister and left the stage with her sister. Only when the Commander dismissed the new recruits, did Alise bother to look at him again. She had been about to move towards him, when she noticed him coming her way.

"Alise, I heard about what happened. Are you okay?"

"I am fine and thank you for your help."

"I will not allow them to falsely accuse any of soldiers. I will be checking in with Nile to assure that things have been handled."

Alise wanted to tell Erwin that Misun was sure to have handled the matter but decided against it. If Misun had done his job, then he would have nothing to worry about. She just hoped that whatever Misun decided to do would not be overturned.

"You really don't hold anything back Commander Erwin."

Tanith had appeared rather quickly by Alise's side. While she was sure their conversation would be amusing in some way, Alise decided it was best to not even listen. Instead she excused herself and went to be with her squad. They were sure to be in a good mood and with what was to come, she wanted to help in keeping their morale high. As she moved through the dining hall, she noticed Levi was standing off to the side. She thought about going past him, but stopped in her tracks.

"Captain Levi."

The look he flashed her said that he was not in the mood for an argument. It also encouraged her to keep on talking.

"I wanted to know why you didn't tell me the truth earlier."

"I didn't need you getting any ideas. Besides what does it matter who conducted the proper investigation."

"It does not matter, but at the same time it does. I know you only did it because of the commander. At the same time, you could have half done the job."

"I never half do anything."

"I know that, I was just saying. You know it does not really matter, thank you for assisting me."

Alise had turned to walk away but stopped in her tracks.

"When I was training this morning, something inside of me woke back up. I didn't notice how much of me woke up until I had to hold my own in the cell. You were right, I did stand in my way because I was scared of being taken away from Xevera. While I still hold that fear, I don't want to be weak anymore. I want to be stronger, despite what the outcome may be. Getting there is not easy and training with Xevera will not do it."

"Get to the point."

"I want you to train me."

Alise brought up her hand quickly to stop Levi from saying anything.

"I know you are not my captain and I know you are not responsible for me. I am asking this because I know you can push me. I am use to fighting Xevera and I need something new. You did not hold anything back and you can read me. It does not have to be every day. It can be when you have some free time."

"I have a lot of planning to do with this upcoming expedition. I need to make sure that Eren is ready as well."

"One training then. I always wanted to ask you to train with me, but things happened."

Levi remained silent for a while and then he spoke up.

"I should have known you wanted something by the way you addressed me. I will train with you for one time. If you disappoint me again, I will make you pay for it. I will not go easy on you like I did during our last sparring match. Are we clear?"

"I completely understand."

"Meet me at my base in two days after the sun has gone down. Don't be late pipsqueak."

Alise's eyebrow twitched when he insulted her. Instead of saying anything, she nodded her head and took her leave. She had only one chance to prove herself and she was not going to let him down again. With this expedition approaching, she needed to be ready. During the day she would focus on the squad and at night she would make it all about herself. This month was going to be trying on her body, but she was ready for the challenge.


	11. Chapter 11

Morning routine was something Alise took great pride in. She enjoyed making the rookies drop to their knees only to scare them back on their feet. With all the training they had undergone her training should have been a walk in the park. Who was she kidding, she knew that it was far from easy. These rookies had to get in sync with the rest of the squad. While they were nothing like Levi's Squad, they still had to keep up with each other. If they could strike just as fast their partner, then they would be able to overwhelm a Titan. In order to strike fast, these rookies had to push past the limits they placed on themselves. The best way to do that was to have them train with the veterans on the squad. Veterans were not as hard as her, but they did not go easy since they knew what waited on the other side of the Walls.

Alise was all set for the morning. She had just placed on her boots when she heard a knock. The thought of ignoring it crossed her mind, but after all that went down she decided it was best to acknowledge who was bothering her. Standing on the other side of door was a slender man in the MP uniform. While she normally treated the MP like the dirt they were, after Xevera's marriage, Alise toned down her treatment a bit.

"They have you traveling out this far, you must be a rookie or in trouble. Regardless what do you want. Here to cause me more problems or did someone send you to apologize."

"Captain Misun has sent me to retrieve you. He said your presence is requested at his second office."

Alise nodded her head and turned to kick the door closed without bothering to say anything else to the man. It was funny how professional Misun could be at times. His second office was nothing more than his home. How hard was it to say that he wanted her to come to his home. As she thought about it, she doubted that Misun would even be there. More than likely he was going to fetch her because of her sister. She just hoped that they had not gotten into fight. The last thing she wanted to do was deal with an aggravated woman.

For Misun to send for her this early, she knew that making either one of them wait was out of the question. While she did have a duty to perform, they did have a system in order for a reason. Vanessa knew every routine and was great at getting people to move. Even though her arm was still broken, that did not mean anything to Alise. Vanessa just could not go out on the next expedition, but she could run trainings. Alise had noticed that Vanessa looked a little down after her injury and this activity was sure to boost her in some way.

"Vanessa!"

It did not surprise her that Vanessa was already up and dressed. Despite using one hand, her uniform was not out of place.

"Is something wrong Alise?"

"My presence is requested elsewhere. I was wondering if you could lead the squad in their morning routine. Today is all about speed and I don't want anyone slacking off. Push them even when you think they are at their limits. I want to see some kind of improvement on the training course and in their sparring matches."

"Understood. I won't let you down."

"You never have Vanessa."

Alise reached out and touched Vanessa's broken arm. She had a feeling that was what Vanessa was talking about. Vanessa had done a lot by putting her life on the line to save Elijah. While she had told her before that she appreciated what was done, it seemed to not really be sticking. One of these days she would find a way.

It was funny to think how much she had changed. A while back she would have been short and a bit direct. After her talk with Xevera and doing some personal reflection, she was pushing herself out of her prison like comfort zone.

As Alise made her way towards the door, Maya made her way into the room. Alise had no intentions on stopping, but the look Maya gave her caused her to pause.

"Is there something on your mind?"

"I was just wondering if maybe we could do some more one on one training. It has been a while since you and I sparred."

That was the first time that someone had actually sought her out for individual training. Most of the members in her squad liked to avoid her because of her tactics. She had eased up on them a little, but it was not enough to make them want to spend time with her. Still, turning away someone was not something her sister would do. No matter how busy Xevera was, she always found time to help out her squad.

"I do have a lot on my plate today. I am sure after Vanessa gets done with you then you will need some kind of break. After all, I don't want to hear excuses when I kick your butt again. If I have time tonight then we can do a late night training or at worse, I will just train with you early in the morning."

While she could not give a set time for them to train, her answer seemed to make Maya happy. In an attempt to avoid any further conversation, Alise excused herself and made way towards her horse.

Even though the roads were not crowded, the look that Xevera gave her made her feel like she took her sweet time. Alise did not bother to offer up any excuses since it never worked. All she could do was hope that she was not walking into any martial issues. While she loved her sister, giving advice when it came to relationships was not her strong suit.

"What is wrong now? Issues with his stroke game or are you all simply arguing."

Alise took up sitting at her sister's table and offered her a playful smirk. The best way to ease the mood was to make her sister laugh at times.

"Some days I forget how dirty your mind is."

"Well it is rather hard to talk freely with the people we keep around us. Seriously what is troubling you?"

"Do you remember our life before we decided that we were going to join the Survey Corps?"

"Depends on which parts you are talking about. If you are talking about our life with our parents, I remember some of it. If you are talking about life on the streets, then I remember that clearly. What does that have to do with anything?"

"When you were born, father told me I always had to look out for you. You were like the apple of his eye. I don't know if you remember this, but I do remember he would always hold you the longest before he left. Every time he left, he made me promise that I would protect. When he died, mother took up reminding me of my duty. She always told me that one day you would return the favor. For a while, I thought it was because that is what sisters do."

"Well it is. What does that have to do with anything?"

"There was a time when we were fighting for food on the streets. Things were getting so rough, we almost thought that we would be better off in the Underground. Childlike thinking for sure. Anyway, we had managed to snag a nice piece of meat off of a passing cart. We were so excited that we cooked it over a small fire. Before we could enjoy our meal, an older man barged in and demanded we give him our food. I remember you took a beating like no other. What I remember the most is the fact that despite your wounds when he tried to kill me, you took him on once more. I don't know where you got the strength from, but you managed to protect me that night."

"I don't recall that ever happening. I do remember getting my butt kicked and when I woke up you were dabbing a dirty rag on my face. What is causing you to do all of this reflecting?"

"Compared to you, I am weak. I don't know why you have always held yourself back. Mother told me that one day you would return the favor. You did it on that night and I am sure you will do it again."

"Xevera you are not making any sense."

"Alise, I am scared. I have been having dreams recently of Titan attacks and of Misun or I dying. I have never had dreams like this before and I hate it. With each passing day the dreams get a lot worse."

Alise placed her hands on her sister's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

"You are newly wedded. While you have been with him for a long time, you were not married. Now that he is your husband you are just scared. You have a reason to live and it is not because of me. All of this pressure is just getting to you. As your second in command, I am telling you that you need to get past all of these feelings. Your squad has grown and those new recruits need a strong captain along with the rest of your team. We don't need a captain that is second guessing herself. Take whatever time you need and speak with Misun. I am sure you have been avoiding him since he sent for me."

"That is probably what it is."

Xevera did not sound confident when she spoke. Alise could tell that from the way her sister spoke she was just trying to be done with conversation. Alise was not willing to let go of the matter that easily. She wanted her sister to see that she was simply dreaming and nothing more.

"I know that is what it is. Besides, have you ever seen anyone else die before?"

"No."

"Exactly. When you try to run away from your fears, they just grow stronger. Not talking to Misun and all those negatives thoughts are just surfacing when you sleep. Believe me, I am not stronger than you because if I was, I would be the captain not second in command."

"While you could not be captain, you could have been placed in Levi's squad."

"Calling him captain is not something I ever want to do on a regular."

"I am sure you would prefer to just scream his name."

Alise cleared her throat in an attempt to keep herself from blushing. It was good to see that her sister was trying to get back to normal, even if it was at her expense.

"He wishes he could make me scream."

"More like you. Anyway, while we are on the topic, I heard that you were going to be training with him later on."

"How did you hear that?"

"I have my ways. Any reason you didn't want me to know?"

"I was going to tell you after tonight."

"As long as it does not interfere with our morning routines or your duty, then I don't care. I just hope this means you won't be holding back anymore. After all, you have a promise to keep."

"I keep that promise on a regular or did you forget about that time when I saved you from being eaten."

"I don't recall that ever happening, but whatever you say."

Alise turned her attention towards the door when she heard Misun clear his throat. The smile that Xevera greeted him with seemed to have an instant effect on Misun. While she wanted to stick around, Alise had a feeling that her sister would have wanted some alone time with her husband. There was a lot the two needed to talk about and she did not want to be in their way.

"I am going to take that as my que to leave. We can talk more later when you return to the base."

"I will try to be there tonight or early in the morning."

Alise was sure that the squad would be happy to have their captain back around. Whenever Xevera was around the morale of the squad tended to go up. That was something she doubted she would ever be able to do. Instead of dwelling on the matter, Alise decided to head towards Levi's base. Even though she would be early, she figured it was better early than late.

It appeared to be Squad Levi's day away. She had a feeling that they were possibly at the training course running drills. While she heard it was nice to watch them train, Alise decided that it was better to just hang back at relax. Walking into his base was out of the question. He did not seem to be the type that liked unwelcomed guest making themselves feel at home. While he did know that she was stopping by, she was certain their training would be conducted outdoors. In an attempt to make herself comfortable, Alise climbed into a nearby tree and relaxed on a higher branch.

Her mind went back to the conversation that she had with Xevera. She did not remember much about her father. She did recall her mother's features and her pleasant smile. Her mother never treated her as if she was anything special. When she was injured, she patched up her wounds. For the most part she would scold Xevera for not keeping her out of trouble. That was something most mothers did. Older sisters tended to always be scold over silly things their little sisters did. Xevera had to have let her fears go to her mind for her to think that she was anything special.

If she was truly special then why wasn't she able to take down Xevera when she was angry. Her body did something weird when she was angry and that was when she felt she could take on anyone. She never felt that strength when she was calm, relaxed, or even happy. The power only came when she was angry and even then, she could do nothing with Xevera. Xevera always seemed to be able to predict what she was going to do when she flew into a fit of pure rage. The rage she felt in the past was far worse in her opinion. When she thought about it, when Levi pissed her off, she did not feel that same energy coursing through her body. Maybe the only thing she ever felt was adrenaline. That had to be it.

The story that Xevera told her about being able to take down an older man while she was in a weak state, had to be false. Something like that was something she was sure she would remember. As she waited for Levi's squad to return, she found herself drifting off to sleep.

Alise did not know why, but for some reason she woke up in time to avoid being hit by a stone. As her eyes opened fully, Alise glared down at the culprit.

"What is wrong with you Oluo?"

"Are you here to spy on us pipsqueak?"

The nickname alone caused her drop from the branch and she glared up at the man. No one was allowed to call her that. The only reason Levi got away with it was because she could not beat him. The day she put him on his back, that nickname was going to have to go. While she thought about beating Oluo to the ground, the look she gave him seemed to work just as nicely.

"You must be here to spy on us, that is the only reason you are in the tree. Trying to gather information on our secret weapon."

"It is not a secret when most of us know about him. Besides I have business with your captain. Here is some advice, try not to copy your captain. The next time you call me pipsqueak, I am going to make you swallow your teeth."

Alise squeezed Oluo's shoulder enough to make him understand that while she was short, she was not to be messed with. Instead of allowing Oluo to say anything else to her, she made her way over towards Levi. He had just finished speaking with Eren, who she found rather hard to read at times. Alise supposed that it was because he was still getting use to his new environment. On top of that, she still had not taken the time to personally talk to him. One of these days she would. After all, their fate was in his hands.

"I know I am a bit early. I wanted to make sure I did not leave you waiting long."

Alise watched as he looked her over. She had expected for him to say something, but instead he called for Petra. The sudden arrival of Petra made it hard for Alise to hide her confusion.

"Petra will be training with you today?"

"I thought the deal was for you and me to train. I did not agree to train with anyone else."

"I said I would train you. Training you does not mean I have to do it personally. Petra is an acceptable substitute. Besides, I am not in the mood to be disappointed again."

"That was one time."

"Multiple times. You can either accept the terms or leave."

There was something about his cold hooded gaze that both annoyed her and produced another feeling inside of her. She did not understand why he had this effect on her. In an attempt to show that she had heard what he said in the past, she decided to accept Petra as her sparing partner.

"Petra, I don't have any plans of going easy on you."

"Same to you."

The smile that Petra had on her face, quickly faded away when they got into their fighting stance. Alise could feel other eyes on her but did not bother to do anything about it. This match was not about putting on a show for his squad. It was not about proving her worth. She was doing this because she wanted to show him that she heard his words. She heard his words and the words of her sister. While her sister had said nothing for a while, now that Xevera spoke, she had to listen. Alise let out her breath slowly and allowed for Petra to make the first move.

Avoiding Petra's fist was rather easy at first. Alise turned her head in time to see Petra's fist breeze by her face. Even though she could attack, for some reason she stayed on the defensive side. She wanted to get a complete feel for her opponent before she unleashed her own attacks. With each swing that Petra took, Alise made sure to step back to avoid being struck. The agitated look on Petra's face meant nothing to her. When she was ready to attack, Alise knocked Petra's hand away and slammed her fist into her chest. Just as she was going to land another hit, Petra grabbed onto her hand and tried to flip her. Alise managed to knock Petra's hand away and moved back out of her grasp.

Petra was a bit faster than she had expected. Speed was not the only way that fights were won. As she ducked out of another swing, Alise felt Petra strike her arm. The blow left a mild sting, but it was nothing compared to Levi's punches. Before Alise could respond, Petra had begun to use her legs. Her kicks packed more of punch than she could have expected. When Petra moved to pull her foot away, Alise went to grab it. Just as her hand went to lock onto her, Petra jumped back.

If Petra wanted to use her feet, Alise had no problem with showing off her kicks as well. She used her arms to mostly block Petra's attacks. Only when Petra was in striking distance, did she move to kick her. Unlike earlier, Petra had actually managed to lock onto her leg. If they were in a street fight, Petra was given the perfect angle to break her leg. Before the thought could even cross Petra's mind, Alise spun and landed her heel in the side of Petra's face. The force was strong enough to cause Petra to release her and stumble back. Despite the blood that dripped out of the side of her mouth, Petra did not seem fazed.

Alise continued pushing Petra and in turn Petra did the same. Levi was right about Petra, despite not wanting to admit it. She had gone into this fight thinking that it would be easy to place Petra on the ground. Petra was far too clever to go down without a fight. As she blocked Petra's next attack she wondered if Levi had anything to do with it. Instead of dwelling on the matter, Alise resumed trying to land a few more blows. While she moved around Petra, a quick glance towards Levi told her that he was not all that impressed. If she was going to get another chance with him, then she needed to do better.

When Petra swung again, Alise allowed for her to land a punch. She had only done this to help close the distance between them. Alise's hands locked onto Petra's arms and she pulled her close. Alise managed to punch Petra in the mouth but did not stop there. Each time that Petra tried to put up her guard, Alise knocked her hand down. She did not focus strictly on Petra's face. Alise began striking her ribs and then landed a kick in the back of Petra's leg. As Petra dropped to her knees, Alise gripped onto her arm and twisted it to the point that if Petra tried to move, her arm would break.

"Tap out or find yourself stuck here during out next expedition."

Despite losing, Petra still had a smile on her face. It was odd sight to see. The last thing she ever did was smile after a fight. She loved her sister, but if her sister kicked her butt, she would not smile. Even after losing in front of Levi, Petra was still smiling. Maybe it was because Petra did not have anything to prove. Regardless of the reason, Alise found it better not to think about it.

"Now are we going to train, or do I have to go through your entire squad."

"You are not worthy of anyone else."

"I won."

"You drug out your victory. Maybe if you would have stopped messing around, I would have other ideas for you."

"I was not messing around. I just wanted to get a feel for her, before I acted. Only a fool rushes in and thinks thoughts of victory before the battle even begins."

"I would believe you, if you had not stepped up your attacks after looking at me."

"I am starting to believe that there is no winning with you."

"Your training is the only thing that matters. I don't see why I matter that much. I am not your captain, so my approval should not matter."

"I didn't come here for this. Are we going to train or not?"

"You have not impressed me. I will allow you a final chance tomorrow. If you put on the same performance, then know that I will ignore you."

Alise watched as Levi walked away, followed by a few others. She had thought that Petra would go with him, but that as not the case. Alise watched as Petra adjusted her uniform and then moved towards her. The thought of walking away crossed her mind, but she was curious to hear what Petra had to say.

"Why did you hold back?"

"I didn't hold back. I had to get a feel for you before I did anything. If I overwhelmed you at the start then what would be the point."

"When you see a Titan do you go easy on it or do you go right for the kill."

"Right for the kill. If you are trying to get at something, I suggest you get to the point."

"That is how we view training. You can learn how strong a person is even when giving it your all. When you hold back in matters like this you are only cheating yourself and your partner. The enemy does not hold back and neither should you."

"You expect me to believe that you gave it your all at the start?"

"Nope I only mirrored what you gave me."

"It appears as if we were both cheating ourselves then. How about the next time we clash we don't hold back."

"How about you give it your all and not worry about what Levi thinks?" Petra spoke the words lightly as if she was worried about angering Alise.

"The only approval I seek is from my sister." Alise pushed back the slight agitation that grew inside of her.

"Then you do a terrible job of showing that. If you want to join this squad then you will need to stop trying to please everyone."

"This is not about joining your squad, I am happy where I am. I am doing this to prove people wrong. Nothing more to it."

"We shall see. Remember tomorrow is your last chance and if you fail, I doubt he will ever give you another chance."

Alise thought about what Petra had to say as she rode back to her base. A bit of her wondered when did she suddenly start caring what people thought about her. Why did she care if she looked weak in Levi's eyes? It was the thoughts of others that got her in this predicament. She had held herself back because she thought about Xevera. She had beaten herself up for losing Sabrina. It felt like most of her life she had placed barriers on herself. The only thing she wanted to focus on was the approval of her sister and now Levi. She was not going to allow herself to start that cycle again. She was going to do this for herself.

When Alise arrived at the base, Maya was standing at the front door waiting for her. Despite it being late, she had made a promise and she was going to keep it. Alise motioned for Maya to follow after her. The grounds were empty which meant that they could move around freely. Unlike her fight with Petra, Alise did not bother to hold back. While she was not holding back, it did not mean she could avoided all of Maya's attacks. The few that Maya managed to land made Alise feel proud. It was clear from her hits that Maya had grown stronger since her training had started. She was no longer the weak and timid girl that she had saved. She was moving forward and Alise could not help but wonder what was fueling her.

Before she could raise the question, she had to wrap their training up. Alise waited for Maya to create another opening. This time when Alise connected, she managed to knock the wind out of Maya. As Maya lay on the ground, Alise took up sitting next to her.

"You are progressing rather nicely. I take it you are doing all of this because you want to take my spot."

"Being second in command has a nice ring to it."

Maya spoke slowly as she continued collecting her breath. As she steadied herself, she started to smile at Alise.

"You seem stronger than the last time we fought."

Alise looked towards Maya and thought about all the training she had put on herself. Even if it was for another approval, she had not taken it easy on herself.

"I had to train harder, after all there is someone going after my spot. If you ever issue the challenge, I want to make sure you never get the urge to do it again. That is all the training we will be doing for the night. You need to get some rest since Xevera will be leading the morning drills tomorrow."

Alise did not bother to rush Maya inside. Instead she allowed Maya to relax under the night sky. In time they would be out past the Walls and something like this might never happen again. It was the small things that she never wanted to take away from anyone. As she made her way to her room, Alise began thinking about just how she was going to deal with Petra. This was going to be her last chance and she was determined to give it her all. Not for Levi or Xevera's approval. Tomorrow and every day after was going to be about herself. If she bettered herself then she was sure she would be able to keep the promise her sister spoke of.


	12. Chapter 12

Their morning training was far from easy. Xevera had made it her goal to not only observe the strategy that Alise had made, but to also enhance it. Any time that someone messed up, their group would have to start from the top. She wanted them to be in sync with each other and nothing more. There were times during that drill that Alise felt like their training would never end. When it did finally come to an end, Alise noticed the relieved looks that everyone had on their face.

"Not going easy on them. Some would think that we switched roles."

Normally Alise was the one tearing apart the squad for little mistakes. Today, it seemed as if her sister was taking a section out of her book. Despite the hell that Xevera put her squad through, she still had the nerve to be smiling at the end.

"I only want what is best for them. We have a lot of new rookies and I want to ensure that a lot come back. I was thinking, what if we made it our goal to reduce our death rate with each expedition. Wouldn't that be amazing?"

"It would be amazing, if it was realistic."

Alise respected the thought process that her sister had, but that thinking was useless. There was no way that they could drop their death rate. Xevera did not get to hand select the members that joined her squad. Commander Erwin tended to pick those people for her. Majority of the people that he selected tended to be the bottom of the pile. The training that they underwent as a squad, only added seconds to their lives. There was not enough time between expeditions that would actually make certain people any better. The fact that Maya had gotten better was just a lucky break. Thinking that anyone else could have that type of turn around would be dangerous.

"It is not a farfetched idea. It just means that we have to take the most out of each day."

"If you believe that you can turn the tide in your favor, then believe that. I am entitled to my belief as well. Don't worry I won't hinder your dreams. After all, I am second in command and it is my duty to ensure that your dreams come true."

She would never allow herself to get in the way of her sister's dreams. With everything going on, she was certain that Xevera was starting to get nervous. In a matter of weeks, they would be on their next expedition. Before they left, Xevera was going to have to attend a meeting where Commander Erwin explained his plan of attack. Those meetings tended to be good for the mass but meant a lot of bad things for their squad. Even after hearing such news, Xevera was going to have to walk around as if everything was going to be okay.

"Since we are done training for the day, I am going to head over to train with Squad Levi."

"Not so fast. The squad is done training, but we are not."

Even though she wanted to get to Levi, Alise was not going to leave her sister. After what her sister had said the other day, it was best if she entertained her. Keeping her sister's mind busy would keep Xevera from going down that dark road.

"Do you want to head to the course or are we sparring again."

"Sparring is a lot better than running the course. After all, we both are at the top of our game in that regard."

Xevera was right about that. Slaying Titans was starting to become natural for them. It was just a shame that Alise did not feel this way in the past. Maybe if she did Sabrina would still be around. While she wanted to think about her friend, Alise pushed the thought to the back of her mind. Now was not the time to dwell on her past mistakes. She had failed once, and she had sworn never to fail again. With the realization that she had been forced to go through recently, she was certain that failure was out of the question.

Alise had gotten into her stance and was about to charge at her sister when Xevera brought up her hand.

"Hold on."

What her sister was up to was beyond her knowledge. Instead of complaining, Alise stood still and watched as her sister took a blindfold out of her pocket. When it was placed over her eyes, she realized that she could truly see nothing. Most blindfolds allowed a person to get a glimpse at the area around them. This blindfold kept her from seeing anything.

"Why are you handicapping me. We both know that you tend to win these matches. No need to give yourself more of an advantage."

"Who said I was giving myself an advantage. Like I said, mother told me that one day you would return the favor. If you are going to return the favor then this has to be done."

"Xevera…"

"Just trust me. After all, I am your captain, so I know what is best."

"Whatever you say. Now can we start fighting or would my captain like to tie me up as well."

"Close your eyes and get a sense for what is around you."

Alise did what she was told and could still feel nothing. It was hard to be in sync with her body since she was not moving. There was no wind calling out to her and no need to protect herself. In this moment she felt like a sitting duck.

"I cannot feel anything. Maybe if we start training then I will feel something."

"We will not start until you do as I say. I know this sounds foolish, but you can sense me without having to see me. You just need to listen to your body."

This training was starting to get annoying. She knew that Xevera was around because she could hear her. If Xevera kept talking, fighting her would be easy. Once their match started things would surely turn in Xevera's favor. There was no way she would be able to do anything with this blindfold on. While she wanted to protest, she did as she was told and kept her eyes closed.

"Don't fight what comes natural. Clear your mind for once and just listen to your body. After you do that, then you can protect me."

Protect her, that was all Alise ever wanted to do. As she stood in that spot, she waited for this feeling to wash over her. No matter how hard she tried, she could not do what Xevera asked of her. Having Xevera constantly repeating the phrase protect her, did not make things any better. Alise could feel herself growing annoyed. Just as her feelings were getting the best of her, she took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

For some reason the darkness that surrounded her was turning into fog. It was like her mind was placing her back in that forsaken expedition. Her fallen squad members screams were filling her ears. Despite being in the moment, her mind was not taking her through the memory. In the dense fog she could hear Xevera talking to her. She had to protect her sister, but in order to protect, she had to find her sister.

A weird feeling washed over her body and she could feel her feet moving on their own. She could see nothing and yet she was walking with confidence. When she neared what she believed was the source, Alise extended her arm and went to grasp at her target. Before her fingers could connect, she felt something slam into the back of her skull. It did not take her mind long to register that Xevera had struck her.

"What the hell was that for?"

Alise had hoped that her sister would say something, but Xevera never opened her mouth. Instead, Alise found herself being punched and began to try and move away. No matter where she moved, Xevera was there. Blocking was pointless and yet she still tried it. This beating was unfair. As Alise dropped to her knees, she could feel the anger inside of her growing. Through the dense fog, Alise remembered what her sister asked of her. Xevera needed to be protected and yet here she was failing at her job. She had felt a connection to Xevera before and she was sure she could find it again.

While Xevera continued her ruthless assault, Alise refused to allow it to break her concentration. Just as Xevera went to kick her, Alise quickly lashed out and grabbed onto her sister's leg. It came as no surprise that Xevera managed to back off. When Alise stood up, the feeling that ran through her body was unlike something she had felt before. This time when she brought up her guard, she managed to block Xevera's attack. Her body was in tune with something around her and while it confused her, she did not stop herself.

Alise locked onto her sister's arm and turned to toss her onto the ground. She had gone to slam her foot down but stopped suddenly. Something told her that it would be a bad idea. Instead of stomping on her sister's stomach, Alise slammed her foot down into Xevera's left shoulder. The sound of something hitting the dirt did not go unnoticed. With a swift motion, Alise managed to knock the item away. She made sure to give Xevera some space and readied herself for Xevera's next attack. Where this confidence came from was beyond her knowledge. Now that she knew her enemy's movement, she was not going to back down.

The two continued going back and forth for a while. Alise could feel her sister's attack growing stronger with each strike. There were times where Xevera would manage to knock Alise out of her concentration. The desire to keep her sister safe allowed Alise to fall right back into the flow of things. It was not until Xevera made the mistake of trying to overwhelm her, that Alise was able to force Xevera into giving her an opening. After slamming her fist into Xevera's throat, Alise grabbed onto Xevera's hand and twisted it into a new locking position. Her foot connected with her sister's stomach and the force caused Xevera to stumble back. It was not her goal to break her sister's arm and Alise released her grip on her sister. Before Xevera could recover her strength, Alise slammed into her midsection and forced her onto the ground. Her hand shot out to grab at the object that she had kicked away earlier. When Xevera stopped struggling, Alise moved her hand up to pull off the blindfold.

The blade rested on Xevera's throat and had produced a small line of blood. Alise pulled the blade away and noticed that smile on her sister's face.

"You pulled a knife on me. Why would you do something like that?"

"I had to make sure you were doing as I instructed. You must have because you would have stabbed yourself if you would have gone through with that move earlier."

Alise dropped the blade beside Xevera and glared down at her sister. She had no idea what was wrong with Xevera and she was not entirely pleased.

"What was the meaning of this training today. It is not like you to do something like this, especially to me."

"It came to me in a dream. Don't you dare tell me that you have not noticed a change in yourself."

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"When you train alone, you tend to close your eyes a lot. During that time, your moves are completely different. When I went to visit Levi to see how you had done, I heard Oluo mention you avoiding a stone in your sleep."

"I just happened to wake up in time to avoid being struck. There is nothing special about that."

"Alise, you can deny it as much as you want, but you have always been special."

"I am special when I am angry and only then."

"You are deceiving yourself. Your anger has nothing to do with it. In fact when you get angry, you fall out of sync. That is why I am able to best you. You need to learn to turn your anger into a beneficial factor."

"Where is all of this coming from. None of what you are saying is making any sense. On top of that, how do you know any of this will do us any good."

"Like I said, I had a weird dream. So far, that weird dream has not let me down."

There was something in Xevera's tone that made Alise worry about her sister. If she did not know any better she would have believed that someone replaced her sister with someone else. Having a dream about something like this was weird. It was as if Xevera knew something and was not telling her. The last she checked, they did not keep secrets from each other.

"We always said that we would be open with each other. Right now, I need you to be honest with me. What is it that you dreamed about?"

"It was a dream that seemed like a memory. Except I was the center of it all. Father was there, along with someone I had never seen before. Despite everything that I did, nothing was good enough. I just remember them saying that Alise will be better. When I woke up, I was crying and in pain."

"Xevera it is just a dream. We all have those weird dreams that we cannot explain. You have to stop allowing your stress to get the better of you. You are making me worry about you."

"Alise, you don't get it. I am in sync with everything that I do. It is the reason that I am on top. The fact that you are barely in sync is the reason that I can beat you. I was never meant to beat you. You can do things that I can never do. You took down a man in a weakened state. In that moment I came to see that mother was right."

"Xevera you have to let that moment go. I don't remember it at all. The only thing I remember is being strong enough to slay a Titan that got too close to you. If I was as strong as you said I was then Sabrina would be alive. You were not there, but Sabrina kept fighting despite the damage her body sustained. All I could do was act tough just so I could convince her to run. When she needed me the most, I got snatched up despite telling her that I would protect her. If you think that I am some unstoppable force, tell that to everyone that I had to watch die."

Alise rubbed a tear away and did her best to stop from crying. She wished that Xevera was right. More than anything she wished she had been stronger back then. She recalled the strength that she got to break free, but it was all too late. That strength came from grief and anger. Anger that she had directed only at herself. Sabrina came to her rescue more than once that night. In the end, all she could do was watch her friend be eaten. She was a coward that survived, nothing more. Even though she said she would always protect her sister, underneath it all she still lived with that regret. A true protector rose when the odds were stacked against them and made a difference. Not once had she been given that opportunity, despite the saves she executed in the past. She had been in good health, not struggling and fighting like Sabrina.

"Are we done now Xevera?"

"We may be done today, but Alise if you don't want the past to repeat itself, then you need to listen to me."

"Despite what I may feel or what you may see, I am not something special. Levi and his squad are the best hope we truly have. I am just the best hope you have to keep you alive. Then again, we have not been placed in that situation."

"Is that what you truly believe?"

"I don't know what I believe to be honest. I just know that I need to get stronger to ensure that the past does not repeat itself. No matter how strong I get, in the end there are people out there that are stronger than us. Despite it all, I am not going to allow that to slow me down. I made a promise to get out of my own path and I intend to do just that. I just ask that you trust me in this regard. I appreciate what you are trying to do, but in the end I know what is best for me and even you. As your sister, it is best that you go home and relax. Stop allowing your dreams and fears to corrupt your logic. You are our captain and everyone needs you to be at your best. More importantly, you have a husband now. If you won't do it for us, at least do it for him."

Alise watched as Xevera took in a deep breath. She waited for her sister to acknowledge her words. While she had expected for Xevera to say something back, her sister only nodded her head. Xevera looked slightly defeated, but Alise knew that this was for her own good. Without bothering to say anything else, Alise pulled her sister into a warm embrace and then took her leave.

On her ride to Levi's base, a lot was going through her mind. She had no idea what her body was doing, and she worried about her sister. The advice that Xevera gave her, troubled her to a certain degree. It was helpful advice and yet it was confusing. People like Levi were freaks of nature. She was certain that if Levi had been there that night, none of his friends would have died. Alise had been there and she watched Sabrina die. Her strength came from fear of ending up like Sabrina. That had to be the real reason she was able to break free and kill those Titans. Even know she realized that she needed anger to stay on top. What she hated to think about was the fact that she did feel differently at times. When she was soaring through the trees during her personal training and when she avoided that stone. None of it really made sense. While she wanted to probe Xevera's mind, that was out of the question. Her sister was falling apart, and she did not need that going into this expedition. It was best if she figured all of this out on her own. When she sorted this all out, she would sit down and speak with Xevera about her discoveries.

All her thoughts ended, the moment she laid eyes on Petra and Levi. Today was the last day that she had a chance to prove herself. If she was going to get a chance to train with Levi just once, she wanted to do it before the expedition. There was no telling what was going to happen, and she owed it to Sabrina to tackle this one obstacle. The events that unfolded earlier with her sister were quickly pushed out of her mind. All that mattered was securing her victory in a way that did not make her look bad.

Alise got into her fighting stance and allowed for Petra to make the first move. She remembered what Petra said about giving it her all at the start of the fight. The enemy was not going to go easy on them and she had no right to slow down either.

Protect me.

The thought caught her completely off guard and yet, Alise was able to move and grab onto Petra's wrist. A quick sweeping motion was all she needed to knock Petra off balance. Instead of capitalizing on the moment, she released Petra and put some space between them.

Out of all times, now was not the time to think about what her sister had said. She was not blindfolded, and she was not in any danger. What happened today needed to be reflected on when she was alone in her bed. Despite what her brain was trying to do, Alise ignored it and continued fighting. For some reason she was not allowing Petra to land any strikes at the start. When she went to attack, suddenly she found herself having to back off.

Alise ducked beneath Petra's punch and slammed her fist into Petra's liver. When Petra stumbled backwards, Alise grabbed onto the sleeve of Petra's shirt and pulled her back. There was no point in easing up. Instead of overwhelming Petra with her fist, Alise began to attack certain key points on Petra's body. Alise locked onto a small portion of Perta's wrist that held a point. The sound that came from Petra was one she had never heard before. Instead of stopping, Alise aimed for the back of her knee and brought her down to her knees. For some reason, she did not let go of the grip she had on Petra's wrist. The moment Petra was on her knees, Alise aimed for a special part of her jaw.

The moment her fist connected, Alise noticed the dazed look in Petra's eyes. Her grip loosened and she watched as Petra fell forward. Alise backed away and looked towards Oluo when he came running in to check on Petra.

"What did you do to her?"

"I could not really tell you."

Alise spoke mostly to herself as she looked upon Petra. She had no idea why she had even aimed for such a point. For some reason when she looked at Petra, her mind told her to go for these areas. Instead of ignoring such thoughts, Alise listened and was rather glad that she did. Even though she had won, she was still worried that it was not enough for Levi. As Oluo helped move Petra out of the way, Alise turned her attention towards Levi.

"Well?"

The silence that fell over them worried her for a moment. She had no idea what was going to happen to her. She had not toyed with Petra and she was going to argue that fact if he brought it up.

"Make the first move."

The words that left Levi's mouth left her feeling rather puzzled. She was glad that he was inviting her to a fight, but it was so sudden. Despite what she thought, Alise nodded her head.

Fighting Levi felt different then the first time. It felt as if his attacks had gotten a bit more aggressive. On top of that, she had to move faster to avoid being hit. She had seen the way he moved when he took on a Titan. While this was not as fast, it was still hard to keep up with him. Her body was barely managing to avoid his attacks and that was when she was lucky. The thought of him being mad about what she did to Petra crossed her mind. This was not the time to be jealous. She doubted Levi was doing this because of some feeling. Besides, she doubted that he was even messing around with Petra. Or at least she truly hoped.

When his fist connected with her jaw, Alise stumbled back and glared at him. The blood that filled her mouth was quickly spat onto the ground. He had made her bleed again. Alise had taken down her sister for the first time and even beat Petra. Today was full of big steps for her and she was not about to allow him to knock her backwards.

A burning rage started to creep up from inside of her stomach. When Levi moved to attack again, Alise got out of the way. Her mind was telling her to target a certain point on his rib cage that was towards the bottom. Creating an opening on him was far from easy. When she did manage to connect, her attack only knocked him back temporarily. A hit like that should have turned the tide for her and yet it did not. No attack that she landed after that did anything to turn the fight in her favor. Was this what it was like to face humanity's strongest? Had she been right in her thinking about him? While those questions swirled around her head, Alise found herself suddenly staring at the sky.

Before he could land another blow, she rolled out of the way and got back up. Her body was sore, but it was nothing compared to the first time they fought. Levi managed to strike her, but it was less than before. That thought alone told her that she could do this. She had improved and she was going to put humanity's strongest on his ass. In an attempt to overwhelm him, Alise felt Levi lock onto her arm. He had begun to twist it in a way that would make her submit. Submitting was out of the question. With a simple twist of her body, Alise managed to reverse the lock and turned so that she could kick him off of her. Before her foot could connect, Levi had moved in a way to reposition himself. Within a blink of an eye, she felt Levi's hand on her ankle. He snatched her rather roughly towards him and aimed his foot towards her inner thigh.

The result of his kicked caused her balancing leg to crumble and she was only still standing because of the grip Levi had on her other ankle. The pain he caused her fueled her rage even more. Despite the pain, Alise moved to kick him off of her. She had enough momentum to break free of his grasp and forced herself to stand tall. Her stamina compared to Levi's ever growing was no match. Most people would have been worn out by now. While it felt as if her body was trying to grow stronger, it was not doing so fast enough. When Levi landed his next blow, Alise found herself looking up to him from the ground with his foot on her neck. To ensure that he did not go any further, she grabbed onto a point by his ankle and tried applying pressure to make him release. After all that they had done, the pressure she added did nothing to him.

"Submit."

Alise glared at him when he spoke. He wanted her to submit in this humiliating position. When he added more pressure, Alise was forced to obey his order.

"I submit."

When he removed his foot, she was finally able to take in a much needed breath. Her hand rubbed the spot lightly and she forced herself to stand up. Normally she would have said something cocky, but nothing came to mind. He had bested her again, despite her feeling in sync with her body. Truly this was a man that could protect anyone, while she had a long way to go.

"That lasted longer than I expected."

Alise watched as Levi moved away from her. From the way he was walking, she noticed that he did not seem as energized as before. Had she really managed to get to him. The thought alone made her want to smile, but she stopped herself. As his squad moved away with him, Alise noticed that Petra had chosen to linger behind.

"Are you here to rub things in?"

"No, I actually wanted to congratulate you."

"For losing?"

"You may not know it, but you managed to impress him. I know that look very well. While he may not verbalize it, it is a look that most of us strive to see."

"I was not trying to impress him. I just want to get stronger."

"His feelings don't matter to you?"

"As the person that I want to train me, his feelings matter. Outside of that, I don't think much about them. Why?"

"I was just curious."

"Petra, I am starting to sense that you like your captain."

"A while back I would have told you no. Then I wrote this letter to my father and I realized that I am completely devoted to him. I want to get stronger to protect him and to make him happy. Whatever he wants, I am willing to do."

"You know dating your captain is looked down upon."

"I know that. I will not allow my feelings to get in the way of my duty or responsibilities. I am okay with living with these feelings for the rest of my life. I just want to be by his side until the very end."

"Interesting. Petra, what was the point of telling any of this to me. You know I could tell him or someone else. If it gets real bad you could be taken out of his squad."

"You may act like you don't care, but I can tell that you like Levi. A lot of people want to be in this squad, and you turned down the opportunity. I have seen the way you look at him and how you act around him. You don't truly appreciate him and you never will. I just ask that you don't get in the way of our happiness."

"Happiness? Petra, he is your captain. If he expresses any feelings then it is because of the role he has in your life as your captain."

Alise made sure to place a lot of stress on the word captain.

"I am well aware that he is my captain. If the day ever comes, I just ask that you respect whatever decision he makes."

Alise could not allow Petra to get to her. There was no way she was going to let Petra pick up on any form of her feelings.

"Rules are broken all of the time. What you do is none of my concern. Like I said earlier, I don't have a crush on him, so you don't have to worry about that."

It was the only lie that Alise could get herself to say rather calmly. More than anything she wanted to hurt Petra for saying those things. How dare Petra think that she could not make Levi happy. Petra was a foolish child compared to her and nothing more. She had been there when Levi was at his lowest. While she did not know what to say to him at that time, she still found a way to reach out to him. Petra didn't know anything about him or what he came from. The fact that she had spoken so harshly only added to her frustration. Those words were thrown at her because of how she acted. If she would have been honest in that moment, maybe she could have gotten Petra to back off. Then Petra would finally see that she was nothing more than a member of his squad. She would never get the chance to be anything more.

As Alise looked upon Petra, all the feelings she once had seemed to fade away. Everything Petra had done was to please Levi. She was sure that Petra was a nice person. Since Petra had deemed her as a threat, she would always get that false side of her.

While Alise rode back on her horse, she began to think about what she was going to do. With each step her horse took, Alise could hear the words of Sabrina running through her mind. Courage seemed to be the biggest thing that they spoke on. Everything after that point was because she lacked courage. She had encouraged Sabrina to have courage when it came to dealing with Tanith. She had yelled at Xevera for being scared to marry Misun. All the time she yelled at others about their courage, she did nothing about her own. At least those two had taken her advice, now it was time for her to take her own. She had started down a road that was going to change her. What she still had not faced was her feelings. It would suck to allow someone to get close just to lose them. Losing people was part of the life she lived. Since she had chosen this life, she deserved to be happy like Xevera had said. Allowing Levi to slip out of her grasp was not an option. Petra could say what she wanted, but Alise was certain that she could make him happy. All she needed was the courage to actually talk to him.


	13. Chapter 13

The expedition was less than a week away and Alise had been pushing herself to the limit. Xevera had attended the meeting with Commander Erwin and only gave her minor details. While Xevera was her sister, it did not mean that she got to know everything that went on. The only thing that mattered was teaching the rookies their long distance enemy scouting formation. From the sounds of it, they were not launching an all out attack. That was something that she was rather grateful for. There was no way that any of the rookies would be ready for that. It was already hard enough getting them to understand the formation. Some mixed up flare signals, while others questioned their roles.

The only positive thing that Alise noticed was the change in her sister's behaviors. It was as if Xevera finally managed to take control and suppress her fears. Xevera was no longer talking to her about odd dreams or fictional memories. It was as if such talk had never happened. While the advice that Xevera had given her in that time had proven to be helpful, Alise saw no point in exploring it any further. She had progressed in her training because of her own actions and Levi's training.

It was not often that she got to train with Levi. Despite being close to him, she still had not bothered to tell him how she felt. All she could do was stand there at times and just listen as Petra spoke to him. That woman was really starting to get to her. Try as she might, it was getting hard to hide how she felt.

Today was going to be a better day for her. Despite the expedition rapidly approaching, Xevera decided to give everyone the day off. She had said that a wound-up squad would be of no use to her. Alise supposed that her sister was right. If the others were able to distract themselves for just a moment, then everything would surely turn out well. After all, most of them would not make it back alive. If some wanted to get minor things together, then today was the day that they got to do it.

Since Xevera was not there to wake her, Alise was taking full advantage of sleeping in. She had pulled the pillow over her face to block out the sun. Like a child, she had built a blanket fortress around herself. No one was going to bother her, today was all about her relaxing and taking it easy. With all the training that she had done, her body was in need of this minor break.

"Allie."

Tanith was the only person that would dare to call her that. Even though she held mixed feeling about that nickname, Alise was not going to move.

"Go away!"

Alise wrapped herself up in her blanket when her pillow was snatched off of her head. From the darkness of her blankets, she glared out at Tanith.

"Come on, you cannot sleep the day away."

"Watch me."

Tanith pulled the pillow close to her chest and leaned down to look Alise in the eye.

"Well then, I suppose you don't want to hear about what I did with Erwin."

No sooner had the words left Tanith's mouth, Alise found herself sitting up. The fact that she had morning breath meant nothing to her. There was a story waiting to be told and Alise was all for hearing it.

"Start talking. If it is not good, then I will hit you for disturbing me."

Tanith plopped down on her bed and pushed her glasses up. Before she could open her mouth, her cheeks started to turn red.

"Well, I went out drinking last night in an attempt to unwind. While I was sitting around all these men, I got to thinking about Erwin. Before I knew it, I was walking towards his house. Then one thing led to another and I ended up sleeping with him."

"Woah, hold up. You cannot just sum it up like that. More importantly, have you lost your mind. Why would you sleep with him? I mean congrats, but are you going to be okay?"

"I think I will be. It is not like I went over there and just dropped to my knees. We talked for what felt like hours. The entire time that we were talking, I kept thinking that he is going to ask me to leave. He has all this work around him and surely he would like to get back to it. He never did and by the time we stopped talking, the effects from my drink had worn off. I remember looking at him under the moonlight and thinking, if I could wake up to that every day I would be happy. Before I knew it, I moved in to kiss him."

"You made the first move?"

"Let me finish the story. Anyway, the moonlight made him look rather irresistible and I just had to kiss him. Right as my lips were about to touch him, he stopped me. He made it rather clear that he was not looking for any type of relationship. I would have to monitor my own feelings if we were to continue. For a second I thought maybe this is a bad idea. Maybe it would be best if I just leave. As I was looking at him, I realized that I would regret not just having him for one moment. Even if it is nothing more than a fling, I am going to make him want me in some way. I seized the moment last night and this morning."

"It is always the innocent ones that you have to watch out for."

Alise rubbed the back of her head lightly and offered her friend a warm smile. Well at least Tanith had taken control of her feelings, in some way. She doubted Tanith was every really scared to pursue a relationship with Erwin. It was no secret that Erwin was dedicated to his job. Having a wife or even a girlfriend was not something most people pictured him having. The Survey Corps was his partner and he was rather loyal to it.

"Well then, what is your next move?"

"To be honest with you, I don't have a next move. I am scared that he may not come back from this expedition. My opinion in that regard does not matter. I cannot stop him, and I will not stop him. He is a man with a dream and getting in his way would be unacceptable. I will tell you this, if he ever needs me for anything, I will gladly satisfy his every desire."

"Tanith why does it sound like you will never get over him."

"I will not say never. Eventually I will get over him, but for now I am content with whatever we are. If he needs to relieve some stress from work, I am there for him. If he needs to just talk, I am there as well."

"It sounds like you two had another conversation this morning."

"We did, but it still confirms that in the end nothing will change. I didn't really come here to dwell on that. I needed a distraction and Xevera is too busy, so you were the next best thing. What has been going on with you?"

"I have not screwed Levi, if that is what you are wondering."

"I am sure if you were sleeping with him, you would not be still in your bed. I bet he would have you tied up somewhere, spread open, with you begging him for more."

The imagery that Tanith created was something that caused Alise to bite a piece of her lower lip. Instead of dwelling on the topic, Alise hit her friend with a pillow.

"He does look like the dominating type. I have a feeling that he would probably take things slow and make you beg for your sweet release. Even then he may still deny it because if he listened, it would be like he submitted to you."

"Well we will never know."

"You are right about that, especially with Petra being so close to him."

Tanith turned on the bed and moved closer to Alise.

"What did she do now?"

"You know the other day, Xevera decided it was a good idea to speak with Hange. Hange has been all about experimenting on Eren, so of course she spends time at Levi's base. We get there in time to see the group sitting down to eat and I see Petra all over Levi. When he moved, she moved as well. I probably would have thrown something at her if Eren had not turned into a Titan."

"He did what!"

"It was not a full Titan, just like an arm to a degree. All that is not important. With Eren and Petra, talking to Levi just did not seem like a good move. After Hange explained everything and we gained new insight, I just left. How in the world can I compete with someone that is around him all the time. I may have known him longer, but she still has more time with him."

"How can you win a race if you are just going to stand on the sidelines."

"You sound like Xevera."

"If you wanted to be childish, you could mention this to Commander Erwin."

"That would probably only make things worse for me. If she is not in his squad then she really stands a chance at being with him."

Alise allowed her head to fall back against her pillow. An irritated sigh escaped her when she thought about the situation she placed herself in. While she dwelled on her problem, Tanith laid beside her and began to adjust her glasses.

"We sound like two teenage girls."

"I feel like one at this point. When you think about it, we never got to really experience this type of thing. Our teenage years started on the streets and then we were introduced to hell. Lots of training and punishment. Besides, I was too far gone to think about dating. Now even with my life being on the line, all I can think about is him and Petra."

Tanith laid silently for a moment, before she tapped Alise on the arm. A smile came to her face as she looked over Alise's emotionless face.

"Allie, let's go out. It will do us both some good just to get away from this for a moment. Just an ordinary day out shopping. I am in need of more shampoo and you need the fresh air."

Rather begrudgingly Alise allowed herself to move out of her bed. As her feet touched the cold floor, she felt a spark of energy rush through her body. She did not really want to be up, but it was better than moping around in her room. Since it had been a while since she hung out with Tanith, being around her seemed like a good idea.

The only problem with going out was deciding on what to wear. She had grown accustomed to the feel of her uniform and having her chest tightly wrapped. Since this was her day off, she figured it was best to just relax for once. She was certain that it would cause some of her squad members to talk, but that was a good thing. With everything going on, maybe they needed that kind of distraction. When she pulled out a green dress, she had a feeling it would be more like entertainment. The dress accented the curves that her uniform tended to hide.

"I nearly forgot what it was like to wear a dress."

"I try to wear one whenever I am not on duty, even if it is around my room. You could say dressing down makes me feel at ease."

Just as Alise moved to place her hair up into a bun, Tanith quickly slapped her hands away.

"Let your hair down for once. With the way you style your bun, I am surprised you have not pulled some of your hair out."

It had been a long time since she allowed her hair down. She had neglected to get it cut and as a result it now stopped past her shoulders. There was no point in worrying about that now. She had to admit that when she looked at herself in the mirror, she did not recognize herself. Slowly Alise brought her hands up to her face just to ensure that she was not dreaming. This was what she would look like if she got to live an ordinary life.

"You were always the looker of the group."

"Nah, that title belongs to Xevera. Men tended to always look at her first."

Tanith squeezed on Alise's shoulders lightly and then began guiding her out of the room. As they passed through the hallway, they crossed the path of a few rookies along with Maya. The look Maya gave her only caused Alise to smile lightly. While she was sure Maya wanted to say something, now was not the time. Right then, she just wanted to experience what it was like to feel slightly ordinary.

While the ordinary feeling was nice, she had to admit that Tanith liked to shop a lot. There was the matter of picking up new glasses, since she tended to break them while she worked. Alise had brought up purchasing goggles, but Tanith said her glasses made her look sophisticated. Once they were done at one shop, Alise found herself being pulled in another direction. Some shops she would have never guessed Tanith held interest in. There her friend was, browsing with the others as if she actually did this on a regular basis.

It was not until they reached a book shop that Alise allowed herself to look out at the street. She noticed a few children that passed by and even a few couples. It was cute to watch families interact. While she found them to be adorable, she did not picture herself with a child. With the life she lived, having a child was reckless and dangerous. If she could just be like the regular people, maybe she would be happy. Hell, even if she would have stayed on the streets, she was sure she would have found someone. Life would have been much easier in its own way.

Just as she began to space out, the feeling of something being shoved in her hands caught her attention.

"I found another fascinating tale. It is something I can read while the others drink and talk about their affairs. Do you mind holding it since my hands are rather full?"

"Is there anywhere else you are trying to go?"

"Actually, I am starting to feel a bit hungry and I spent too much coin today."

"Don't worry about it. There is food back at the base. If you are willing to cook, then you are welcome to do as you please."

"I always end up cooking."

"It is not our fault you could not run fast. You got the cooking role because we were busy stealing dinner and not getting caught, need I point out."

"It is not my fault you all can run real fast."

Tanith began to pout and as she did this, her glasses started to fall forward. As Alise looked at her friend, she could not help but hope that Tanith would find someone. Getting over Erwin was not going to be easy. Tanith was attractive and her personality tended to mesh well with others. Mentioning something like that was pointless. Tanith had her eyes set on one person, and it would be a while before she looked elsewhere. She just hoped that her friend moved on before Erwin decided her feelings were too much of a gamble.

The walk back to the base was rather pleasant. Tanith spoke mostly of their past life on the street and the misadventures they got into. A few times Alise caught herself laughing at how reckless they were. Trouble was something that they could not stay out of even if they tried. If it was not Tanith's speed that got them in trouble, then it was her mouth. She did not believe in backing down from a challenge. While she could handle most problems that came her way, dealing with the Garrison was never easy. Those men back then really knew how to throw a punch, especially when they were drunk.

Talks of the past distracted Alise to the point that she did not notice her sister's horse was present, along with a few others.

"I would like to point out that the only reason we got caught that night was because you ran into that barrel."

Alise could not contain her laughter when she remembered the way Tanith feet were kicking up in the air. If they had not been struggling to pull her out, they would have surely gotten away.

"Alise, all of that could have been avoided, if you had not tried stealing the officer's liquor."

"I was curious to see what the big fuss was about."

As the words left her mouth, Alise turned to face her sister. No sooner had she turned her head, she could feel her cheeks turning slightly red. She had not realized that Levi had been sitting at the table along with Hange. Standing in front of him in her dress made her feel naked. In an attempt to regain her composer, Alise cleared her throat lightly.

"Were you all in the middle of a meeting? If so, we will head back out."

"No need, we were just going over some minor details for the last time. We are all done, so why not come join us."

"Join you? Oh no, I could not do that. I am not dressed properly for the occasion."

"I think you look wonderful."

Hange's comment caused Alise to smile rather lightly. Her smile faded when she noticed the look that Levi had on his face. She could not help but to wonder what was going through his mind. The look he had quickly faded when Hange spoke up again.

"I think it is time we conduct another experiment."

"Four eyes, you are done experimenting for the time being."

"There is still much at hand that needs to be learned. If we want things to go better, then I will need more time with him."

"It is not going to happen. I suggest you review your notes and go from there."

Despite being shut down, Hange did not lose her spark. Instead, she pushed back from the table and made her way towards the door.

"Come along Xevera. You promised me that you would share some of your old notes with me. Your notes will surely help me forgot about experimenting on Eren, for the time being."

Alise watched as her sister and Hange took their leave. She was certain that Levi was going to leave up until Tanith opened her big mouth.

"Captain Levi, it would be an honor if you stayed for dinner. I am sure your squad could be without you for a few more minutes. Besides, it is not often you get to feast your eyes on sight like this."

Tanith gestured towards Alise before she abruptly took her leave. If she would have stayed longer, Alise would have gone upside her head.

"Tch."

At least now Alise was aware of what he thought. Even though she felt exposed, it appeared that Levi did not really care. She supposed if she was Petra, then maybe he would have liked what he saw. Such thoughts were ruining her mood and she was not going to stand for it. While she wanted to retreat to her room, Alise decided to sit across from him.

"Is your squad ready for this expedition?"

"No one is ever ready for an expedition, despite how much they prepare."

"That is true."

Alise allowed her eyes to travel down to her hands, before she looked back up at him. She allowed her eyes to focus on his ascot before she looked him in the eyes again. The longer she sat there, the worse she felt. Her hands were starting to sweat and in time she was sure her leg would start shaking. She had to say something to keep her mind busy.

"What is Petra to you?"

The confused look that Levi had on his face was justifiable. Out of all the things to say, she just had to talk about Petra.

"She is a valuable member of my squad, just like everyone else. I suppose that is not why you asked that question."

"Are you assuming that I have a hidden motive."

The look that came across Levi's face said that he did not like this game they were playing. Levi was a rather up front person and her she was beating around the bush. Being flat out honest with him was something she could not do. She could tell him off any day but talking about her feelings was another matter.

"You cannot be as dense as you are acting."

"Watch the insults. You are not my captain and you do not get to talk to me as you please."

"I am the person whose approval you constantly seek."

"I don't seek your approval. If anyone seeks your approval it's Petra. I just wanted you to train me because I knew you could push me."

Alise spoke in a rather matter of fact tone. As she spoke, she wondered if he really had seen through her act the entire time.

"Then why are your hands trembling?"

"I was annoyed by your earlier comment."

"Tch."

He had every right to make that sound. She was still lying and it was starting to annoy her. How hard was it to say what was going through her mind. Nothing was guaranteed and yet she was taking her time with everything.

In order to steady her nerves, Alise began to rub her hands together. When she opened her eyes and looked at him, she realized she had to open her mouth. It was either now or never.

"That night when I learned you lost your friends, I wanted to tell you that I was sorry for your lost. Saying something like that seemed stupid. I didn't say anything for a while and kicked myself mentally for not knowing what to say. When I brought you that tea, it was the only thing I could think of doing. Then I saw you cleaning and thought, maybe I can get over my fears by just being around you. When I lost Sabrina I shut down and ran away from pursuing anything with anyone. I kept telling myself that I didn't like you. It was a temporary feeling that would go away. For a while, I managed to convince myself that I was right.

When Commander Erwin offered me a chance to be in your squad, I realized I could not do it. I could not leave Xevera by herself. More importantly I could not be stuck under your command. I could not call you captain because I still liked you. I am certain I would not be saying any of this, if I had not gotten jealous of Petra. I see how she interacts with you and I get jealous. I start to wonder what could have happened if I would not have shut down. I do realize that it was just us cleaning and you may not have felt anything, but still a girl can dream right.

You are right Captain Levi. I do seek your approval some days. I seek a lot of things that I am scared to verbalize. To be honest, right now I can feel my stomach turning and I don't want to stop talking because I am scared of what you will say. I don't have anything else to say, so say what is going across your mind."

The room remained silent for a moment and Alise watched as he just stared at her. She wanted to shake him or beg him to talk. In his silence, she felt safe. His silence meant that he had not rejected her and maybe she stood a chance. Then again, he could be just thinking of a good insult.

"You want to follow me around like a lost puppy. You women truly are confusing. In regards to your cleaning habits, they were acceptable for that night. I don't look for a partner that will share my habits. I don't know what I want in a partner and I don't dwell on the topic. As for Petra, there is nothing to be jealous of. I am her captain and nothing more. You had an opportunity to be a part of my squad and turned it down. With your inconsistent behavior, it is a good thing that you did."

"I don't need you to tear me down. I get it, you don't like commitment and I am not your type. That is all you had to say."

"It is not good to put words in people's mouths."

"Then what are you saying. I am telling you how I feel and you are treating the matter with indifference."

"Just because I am not saying what you want to hear does not mean I don't care. I don't know what I want and now is not the time to dwell on the matter. Things aren't always that simple."

"You are right Levi, now was the worse time for me to confess my feelings. Falling for someone with the lives we live is reckless and stupid. There is no telling what will become of me. After all, you are Humanity's Strongest and I am second in command of the Grim Squad. People like us were not meant to be together, despite what I might have thought."

Alise forced herself to stand up and moved away from the table. She could feel her eyes stinging and more than anything she wanted to cry. Crying was not an option. Giving him the privilege to see how much he hurt her was out of the question. It was best if she just appeared to be a big girl about the matter. This was the life she chose. If she wanted to come close to an ordinary life, she should have joined the Military Police or the Garrison. At least then she would have been able to live with such a false illusion. In this life, the simple thing of falling in love was out of the question.

"Alise."

The fact that Levi had said her name caused Alise to pause in her steps. When she looked back at him, she noticed that he was still sitting. He was not rushing to hold her or to ease her pain. She did not know what he wanted, and she did not care. All she wanted was to be away from him. With each step that she took, she felt as if her legs were going to falter. She remained strong up until she reached her room. The moment her head came into contact with her pillow, she began to cry.

Someone like her, she doubted would ever find love. With everything that she had been through in the past, this was what she deserved. Petra was right, there was no way that she could make Levi happy. Nothing that she did was special. That one night that they had spent cleaning together would be the only time they truly spent alone. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to forget. It was best if she just focused on the expedition and nothing more.

When she heard her door open, Alise turned away from the low light. Xevera and Tanith were the only people that she figured would come bother her.

"Can you just leave me alone. I don't want to hear anything that you have to say. I know you want to comfort me, but it won't help. I told him how I felt and he rejected me. If you think that expression he had on his face was special, you are wrong. I was wrong to think that I was special. I was wrong to hope that I could have a relationship with him. Me, the person that cost Sabrina her life. Me, the person who is the biggest coward out of all of us. I don't deserve to be happy and you know Petra is right. After what he has been through, Levi deserves to be happy. He deserves someone that is going to be devoted to his every need. Not some person that will bring him tea and clean. He deserves to be with someone that will know what to say when he is pain."

Her tears caused her to pause in her speech. If she would have looked at them, she was certain that she would not be able to keep talking. More than anything she would have begged them to hold onto her. To make her feel like she was important and loved despite the fears that plagued her mind.

"The person that he picks is going to be one lucky lady. I will never be that lady and I hate myself for believing that I could. I just want to be alone tonight. Please don't come near me."

Alise hoped that they would not object in any way. When the door started to close, she pulled her pillow close to her body. Tonight, Alise found comfort in the darkness that surrounded her. Her heart ached in a way that she wished to forget. As her broken heart continued to beat, Alise found herself slowly drifting off to sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

Time seemed to merge together as the expedition drew near. Alise had gotten up despite the pain in her chest to perform her duties. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to feel sorry for her. People got rejected every day, there was no point in making her feel special. While she was in pain, a bit of her anger did trickle over into her workout. She pushed the squad harder than before and she pushed herself even harder. Some nights, she barely had the strength to walk back to her room. In an attempt to avoid looking pitiful, she would fall asleep in a tree. Xevera was busy dealing with Commander Erwin and her husband. Or at least, that was what Alise liked to tell herself.

As her horse trotted down the street and the noise from the gate filled her mind, Alise snapped back to the matter at hand. The day for the expedition had arrived and the people around her looked both excited and sick. It was a common emotion to see, especially since most of them were rookies. No pep talk would ever make them want to run out and throw their lives away. These fools had stayed behind, even after hearing Commander Erwin's speech. There was no real need for them to look gloomy. If anything, it was their own fault for being in this predicament. Running away now was out of the question, unless of course they wanted to be put on trial. With the way things were, death was the only thing promised to them. From where she was sitting, at least they could go out looking like brave cowards instead of spineless men.

"Don't forget to wave to Tanith?"

Alise looked up in time to see Tanith waving frantically towards them. Her hand rose slowly despite the heavy feeling that hung over her. As her horse stepped over the threshold, it felt as if the heavy feeling had been snagged in the gateway. When she got back, she was sure that it would fall over her once more, but if she wanted to live she had to leave it behind. Out here, people died for minor things. The last thing she wanted was to have her life taken because she was thinking about Levi and Petra.

"Are you going to be okay? You seemed to have been out of it since before I spoke to you at the gate."

Xevera was always worried about her. She had tried to tell herself that her sister was too busy to notice, but it was far from the truth. The night that she woke up in bed without any memory as to how she got there should have been enough proof for her. Talking about Levi was not something she wanted to do. Xevera was informed that Levi had rejected her. Any advances further into the matter were blown off or avoided altogether. Speaking about Levi now was not going to make her feel any better. It was best if she just stayed focused on the expedition.

"I am not even thinking about it anymore. All that matters is completing the task at hand."

From where they were positioned, it was hard to see Levi and his squad. His squad was of no concern to her. What mattered was the plan that Commander Erwin had set for them. It came as no surprise to learn that they were going to be bait once more. What shocked Alise was the fact that Commander Erwin had divided their squad up. He had requested that Xevera be close to the middle, while Alise was stuck in the first column. She was never far from her sister, and while she had wanted to argue, she did not. It was her responsibility to ensure that each member understood how to use the flares properly. With the training she had put them through, she was certain that no one would make a mistake. Alise just hoped that all of them would live to see the next part of the expedition.

"Try not to get the entire squad killed."

Xevera had a smile on her face, as she motioned for the veterans of their squad to follow after her along with a few handpicked rookies.

"I will make no such promise."

Alise smiled towards her sister and looked back at the rookies that she had been stuck with. A lot of them had already lost their cool when they spotted a few Titans. Those Titans were ones that they did not have to worry about. The upcoming ones were going to be their true enemies. If they wanted to live, then they needed to get over their fears.

"Remember, only one of you needs to use their flare. I know that I trained you all to attack, but after what I just saw, it is better if you stay on your horse."

"What about the Titans then? We cannot just fire the flare and hope it goes away."

The timid voice of Ai spoke above the hoof beats. Alise could see the fear in her eyes and noticed how red her knuckles were turning from gripping onto the reins.

"It is nothing that I cannot handle on my own."

"With my help of course."

Maya's voice caused Alise to turn in her direction quickly. She could have sworn that Xevera had taken Maya with her. There was no reason that Maya had to be with her. Her progression had placed her in the safety of the middle of the formation, away from these Titans.

"What are you doing here? You are supposed to be in the middle."

"Captain Xevera said that if I killed more Titans than you, then I would be the new second in command."

The smug look on Maya's face caused Alise to chuckle. There was always some kind of competition going on in their squad. To know that she had someone like Maya around made Alise feel a bit better. It was the distraction that she truly needed to ensure everyone's safety. Out of everyone around her, Maya could be trusted not to flee.

"It is a shame she sent you here to get your dreams crushed."

Alise kept her eyes open and was about to go for her flare when one suddenly went off. She should have known that a Titan would be spotted soon. Thankfully this male Titan was only 5m. It would not require much work for her to take it down.

"Remember distract it, but don't break formation. If you run too far apart, you may get eaten."

The horse's movement did not bother her as she began to stand up. As her hands locked onto her weapons a twisted smile came to her face. This was what she lived for. Killing creatures like this made her feel good. A long time ago she feared them, but now she was in control. As her steel cut through the nape of the male Titan, Alise landed on the back of Maya's horse.

"You attack from the bottom and I will aim up high. Don't worry we can switch roles whenever you want."

Watching Maya work was something she never would have thought she would see. The first time that they ventured outside of the Walls, Maya nearly gotten herself killed. Seeing Maya take down her own Titan without Alise having to yell at her, caused Alise to feel a sense of pride. She had helped this girl get over her fear and to think, she had so many doubts about her.

Just as the 7m Titan hit the ground, Alise could feel that something was off. The ground beneath their feet trembled in a way that she had never felt before. When she looked into the distance she noticed the flood of Titans that were coming towards them. In the middle of it all stood a Female Titan that she had never seen before. Alise gripped onto her weapon once more and was about to use her ODM gear when suddenly the female passed over her. The look of horror on Maya's face confirmed that they were both thinking the same thing.

Alise whistled for her horse and extended her hand towards Maya. Fighting one Titan was logical, but the amount coming towards them was out of the question. If there had been more trees, Alise would have tried holding them back. The lack of trees and the open land around them made that out of the question.

"Fire the flares and warn the others. Despite what I wanted, now we have to fight to keep everyone else alive."

"What are you going to do?"

Alise used her ODM gear to latch onto the only tree that she could see. As she stood on the side of the tree, she offered Maya a weak smile. Her eyes moved away from Maya and towards the approaching threat. A week ago, she had confessed her feelings to Levi. She had hoped that he would return the favor in some way. As the rays of the sun shinned down on the advancing Titans, a smile came to her face. Despite him rejecting her, she was glad that she had spent more time with him. Even if most of the time he left her bruised and on her backside. No matter how she looked at it, it was all a good time.

Dying in a place like this was out of the question. This was not going to be her grave, not when she had people to protect. These filthy Titans would not eat her or her sister. She had been pushed herself to the limits and now it was time to see the fruits of her labor. A surge of energy flooded her body, and she could feel her muscles responding in a way she had never felt before. Despite the energy being new to her, it felt familiar at the same time. It was as if her body was welcoming back something that had been locked away.

Alise waited until a Titan reached out for her and then pushed herself off of the tree. As her blade cut into the nape of one Titan, Alise aimed for a larger one. She began to use the bodies of the bigger Titans to help in taking down the smaller ones. Even though she had managed to take down a few, a lot still advanced past her. The sounds of screams filled the air and she knew that the screams belonged to her squad. Before some were killed, she was glad to know that they had managed to set off at least the red flare. In the far distance she noticed that a black flare had gone off. From what she had experienced, she was certain that a red flare would soon follow. This was not like anything that she had ever seen before.

With ease her blade cut into a 9m Titan and she allowed herself to land on its head when it hit the ground. Around her there were still four other Titans. From the way her blade cut, Alise knew that it was time to replace it. There was only so much damage that her steel could do before it broke.

When a Titan came charging towards her, Alise felt a deep sense of hate wash over her. The longer she fought these Titans the angrier she felt. So many humans had died to these vile things. They were a mockery of humanity in her eyes. They dared to copy them and yet they did not hold any favorable qualities. How dare these abominations even exist. As long as she could breath, she would not dare let any of them live. She would murder them all if she had to.

Slay what should have never been created.

The words ran through her mind slowly. Just as she got to the end of her thought, Alise used her ODM gear to latch onto the side of a Titan's skull. From the way it was angled, it became rather easy to cut down the group that had tried to attack her. When the last small Titan fell to the Earth, Alise turned her attention towards the Titan she had been using.

"Useful and yet useless."

Alise placed her sword away and watched as the blood evaporated off of her cloak. She began to whistle for her horse. Maya should have been on her own horse by now. Even if she was not, any horse would be better than walking. Instead of standing around and waiting, she took off in the direction the drove of Titans had gone in.

In time her horse managed to find her. Its once clean coat was covered in blood. Despite seeing horrendous things, her horse had remained loyal to her. With the return of her horse, she hoped that the blood that stained its coat did not belong to Maya.

"Can anybody hear me?"

The bodies on the ground were mangled and squashed. Only a few Titans had been slain here and yet something did not seem right. Her squad had grown in size and yet there were not a lot of dead soldiers. A bit of her wondered had the cowards grown a spine and finally fought back. It would explain why she was not surrounded by her squad. At the same time, where were all the dead Titans.

A head of her, Alise spotted someone running towards her. Not far behind her was a 4m Titan. As Alise drew closer she realized that the figure did not have any gear and was without its cloak. If it had not been for their basic uniform, she would have thought that she was looking at an unlucky civilian.

"Faster."

A hard kick in her horse's side was all the encouragement that it needed. When the Titan gripped onto its victim, Alise lashed out by cutting into its arm. There was no place for her to latch onto and her ODM gear was running low on gas. Standing in front of the Titan caused her to forget such an issue. She was going to kill this Titan, it was just going to take some time.

A well-placed cut on the back of its leg caused the Titan to falter. To ensure that it stayed down, Alise aimed for its other leg. Even though it could not move, the male Titan continued to try and grab at her. It was a pathetic sight to see. Once it was on the ground, Alise used her gear to finish it off. With the Titan dead, she was finally able to focus on the person it had been chasing.

Freeing the female from the Titan's grasp caused Alise to finally get a good look at the figure. What she did not understand was how any of this could happen. Maya had left her fully dressed and with a new attitude. She had her gear and she was going to warn the others about the approaching danger. This woman in front of her had been stripped of everything and was wounded.

"Maya, who did this to you?"

"They are a bunch of traitors. I warned them like you said and some of them turned to fight. Most of them listened to Snow and began to retreat. I tried stopping them and that was when they ganged up on me. Ai knocked me off of your horse and helped them strip me of my weapons. When I tried to run, Homura cut into me. They said that I would make the perfect fodder."

"Thankfully Homura always had a crappy cut or you would be dead."

Alise tried to make Maya smile, but it did nothing to ease the agony in her eyes.

"Why would they do that to me? Aren't we family?"

"Fear does the ugliest things to people. We cannot stand around and talk. We need to get to safety, and I will deal with the traitors."

Alise looked down towards the hand that Maya placed on her. Instead of saying anything else, Alise began the process of tending to her wound. While they had time to relax, Alise could only think about what she was going to do those traitors. Attacking their own was not something that could ever be forgiven. Since she doubted that they would run back towards the Walls, her attention shifted towards the Titan Forest.

During their ride towards the Titan Forest, Maya had gone silent. Alise felt her weight fall onto her body but calmed down when she felt her breathing. After what Maya had been put through, it made sense that the woman had passed out. A bit of her wondered if Maya would ever be the same when she woke up. To know that she had to fear Titans and her own squad was not something anybody should have to deal with. By the time Maya woke up, Alise was going to make sure to their blood stained the ground.

The Titan Forest was a rather magnificent thing to behold. The trees towered all around them and allowed them to use their gear with ease. While she wanted to push ahead, she knew that she was running low on gas. Fueling up was out of the question. If those cowards were in here, no one was truly safe. Attacking a large group was not something Snow would ever do. He was a clever man and so was Ai. If anything, they would pick off people that crossed their path. To secure their safety, they were going to stay away from the main path.

It would have been nice, if Alise could have charged straight in, but the growing Titans at the entrance told her it was a bad idea. Begrudgingly she turned her horse into a clear patch and stopped only when she felt the course was clear. Screams filled the air around her and Alise did her best not to listen to them. She had no idea what was going on anymore. All the mattered was finding those traitors before things turned ugly.

After a while of moving through the forest, Alise finally broke out onto the main path. She brought her horse to a complete stop, when she noticed what lay before her. The bodies that lay on the ground before her, were not just killed by a Titan. One thing was for sure, a Titan would never kill an animal. With the amount of bodies around her, Alise was certain that the trio could not have done this kind of damage.

"Maya, wake up. Tell Commander Erwin what has happened. Do you hear me Maya?"

Alise waited for Maya to look at her, before she moved away. A sick feeling in her stomach started to manifest as she moved towards some of the fallen scouts. The ones that were up in the trees, clearly were killed by a Titan. The few that were cut into told her another story. As she was examining one of the bodies, she noticed a male was resting against a tree. His uniform was stained with blood, but he was looking at her. When she drew closer, she realized that it was Elijah.

"Elijah, hang in there."

Alise tried applying pressure to his wound, but nothing was causing the bleeding to stop.

"They attacked us while we were dealing with the female Titan. I didn't even see it coming."

"Where did they go?"

"They went that way and Captain Xevera followed after them. I tried to help her, but I didn't block in time. I am sorry I was not strong enough."

"Nonsense, you did a good job. You just need to hold on a little longer and someone will be along to patch you up."

"Do you think she will think I was a hero."

"Who? Your sister? Of course she will. We can both tell her that when we see her."

"That will make her smile."

A smile came to his face and he started to look away from her.

"Elijah!"

Alise tried to get him to look back at her. When she looked into his eyes, she noticed that he was looking into a distance that she could not see.

"Elijah, you got to talk to her yourself."

Alise allowed her hand to slip away from him slowly. He had died with a smile on his face and yet she could not share in his joy. He should not have died at all. He had a sister that was at home waiting on her brother. Despite calling him a hero, she was certain that people would mock his death.

Slowly Alise pushed herself to her feet. While she did not want to, she began to take some of his equipment. His ODM gear had been damaged and the only thing useful that he had on himself was two blades. Before she moved away, Alise closed his eyes and allowed her hands to linger for a moment. It was a shame that human blood did not evaporate.

This expedition was turning into a true nightmare. Most of the corps was going to be busy with the Female Titan. She doubted Commander Erwin would send anyone to aid sister. To ensure that nothing bad happened, Alise took off in the direction that Elijah had mentioned. As she navigated the trees with her ODM gear, she could hear the sounds of a fight going on. In the clearing she noticed her sister was standing in the middle of some fallen men.

"Mind if I tag in?"

Alise did not wait for her sister to reply. Instead she went right to cutting into anyone that got in her way. The fact that they had touched her sister angered her. What fueled her anger was knowing that there had been useless deaths. Deaths that could have been avoided if people were not so scared. As the last male fell in front of her, Alise cleaned her sword off and looked towards her sister.

"Why didn't you just do that from the start? What was the point of allowing them to take you this far in?"

"I wanted to see if there were more of them. Since no one came to their aid, I suppose this is the last of them. How did you know where to find me? You're not supposed to be this far in."

"I ran into Elijah and he said you went this way alone."

"Elijah is still alive?"

"Sadly no. Where is the rest of our squad?"

"I sent them to aid Commander Erwin. You still have not told me why you decided to break an order I gave you. The rookies are the ones that need you, not me."

"Aio, Snow, and Homura turned on Maya. They had left her to die while they fled for protection. I was trying to track them down when I stumbled on Elijah."

Xevera let out an annoyed sound as she checked over her gear. The caring side of her Xevera was replaced by a harsher one.

"The nerve of these recruits. We treat them like family, and they try to put a knife in our backs. If we are going to track them down then we need to refuel."

Just as the words left Xevera's mouth, the sound of a gunshot interrupted their conversation. Alise's eyes moved towards the blood stain that was growing just under the middle of her sister's uniform.

"Xevera!"

Xevera had fallen into Alise's arms. While she wanted to attend to her sister's wounds, the appearance of the trio caused her to stop. How Snow had been able to get a gun was beyond her knowledge. Looking into the barrel of the gun did not cause Alise to soften her gaze. He would need to reload if he was going to try and threaten her.

"She is your captain!"

"Captain. Family. None of it really matters anymore, now does it."

"It will always matter and for your treason I am going to slaughter you."

"Homura, remind her who is speaking with."

Alise noticed Homura had a gun and let out a low growl. It was becoming clear that they had either stolen these guns or purchased them off of the market. With what they made, she doubted any of them could afford such a thing.

"Hold still Homura. I hate to waste anything, so just be a good girl and give us your equipment. Ai, take our beloved captain's gear."

Alise lowered Xevera slowly to the ground and glared at Ai, but it did not stop Ai from what she was doing. As her hands moved over her belt, there was a feeling that washed over her. It crept up from the ground and wrapped its way up her body. It was ominous and yet she did not feel afraid.

"Since you are going to leave us here to die, mind telling me why you turned on us. We treated you nicely after all."

Ai had a rather troubled look on her face, but Snow did not seem bothered.

"Like family. This is far from family, you all are a bunch of suicidal nuts."

"Wouldn't that make you the same."

"I didn't join because I wanted to, I was forced to do it. I will not throw away my life for some dumbass commander and his merry band of blind followers. If you have not noticed, he does not care about us. He has his own agenda and we are all stepping stones for him to reach that goal. If you all were a real family, you would have just let us escape. Instead you all chose to slaughter those that retreated. It was not hard convincing others to turn on you at the right moment. When I look at them now, I guess you did us a favor in the end. After all, that would have been way too many mouths to feed. Enough talk. Give us your gear and get down on your knees."

Alise allowed her hands to move back towards her belt, but she did not move as quickly as they wanted.

"Ai, I can tell you don't want to do this and you don't have to. There is still a chance for you."

"I had a brother that joined the Survey Corps some years ago. From what we heard, he was the best. He could have joined the Military Police Brigade, but decided not to. He said the highest honor would be to serve in Squad Levi. Levi did not think my brother was qualified enough for his group. The rejection crushed my brother, but it did not kill him. He was placed in this squad and survived up until the last expedition when the two of you failed to come to his aid. I hear that he died distracting a Titan from eating another soldier. It was a death that could have been avoided altogether."

In the last expedition the death that bothered her the most belonged to a screaming man. She had not taken the time to fully be interested in her squad and thus had not truly learned his name. He died when she moved to aid Maya and Xevera had her hands full.

"Ai, your brother was a hero and trust me I wish I could have saved him. I know for a fact that Xevera would have done something if she was closer. The area around your brother looked clear and the Titan leapt up to attack him. He would not have been the same even if I could have reached him in time."

"He still would have been alive!"

An ear piercing sound brought their conversation to an end. When Alise's ears stopped throbbing she noticed that Homura had lit his gun. Homura scores were not that high and with his aim and habits, he was useless to the Garrison. The Garrison rarely turned down people and she was certain he could have stayed with them. From the way he interacted with Ai, it became clear why he had chosen the Survey Corps.

When the ground began to tremble the looks on their face was replaced with fear. The gunshot that erupted from Homura's gun did nothing to stop the 11m female Titan. While it would have been nice to watch what happened to the group, Alise had to get her sister to safety.

Xevera was practically dead weight, but it did not deter Alise from moving her. Moving them up into a nearby tree was rather tricky. Once she got them high in the branches, Alise turned to see what had happened to the trio. The only body that lay half eaten on the ground belonged to Homura. Ai and Snow were blazing a head and Alise wished that she could go after them. If she could just get a hold of one of their gears, then things would be a lot better for them.

The blood that had pooled onto Xevera's uniform made it hard to tell how bad her wound was. With careful fingers, Alise was able to expose the damaged area. It looked as if the bullet passed through cleanly. On its way through her sister body, it had left behind damage that could be fixed with proper equipment. To ensure that her sister would make it, Alise ripped some of her cloak and used it as a bandage for Xevera's wound.

"Hang in there Xevera. I just need to find my horse and we will be out of here."

A strong blow to the bottom of their tree nearly caused Alise to tumble out of it. To ensure that her sister did not fall, Alise gripped onto her sister's body. What caused the Titan to return was beyond her knowledge. With each blow from the Titan, Alise knew that staying in this tree was out of the question.

"It looks like getting that horse is out of the question."

Xevera offered Alise a weak smile and tried to move.

"Don't push yourself. I can take care of this one, but the problem is that I am running low on gas. I used a lot of it up out there and I went into overdrive trying to reach you."

"You still have enough to make it out of here alone, right?"

"I am not going to leave you behind."

"I add additional weight which is causing you to burn more gas. It is better if you just leave and bring back help."

"Not leaving you here, so don't ask me that."

"Alise.."

"If we can get a good head start then maybe we can run into others. It is approximately 11m, but its movement was not as fluid as the others. A few sharp turns and we are home free."

"That is if your gas tank does not give out on us."

"Get up, we need to get moving."

Alise gripped her sister as best as she could in the shaking tree. From the way that she was holding her, she knew that it would only aggravate Xevera's wound. When they got away from this female Titan, Alise would try repositioning her grip.

With one good push off, Alise took off into the forest. She allowed her eyes to close as she felt the wind move around her. Despite the extra weight that had been placed on her, she did not feel it. The wind was calling to her and her body was responding in its own way. There were times when she would dip low just to get an extra push. When she turned to check behind them, she noticed that the Titan had vanished.

"We are almost home free."

Alise fired her gear once more. As the hook sailed through the air, it came into contact with something that was not wood. The female Titan gripped onto the wire with enough force that it caused Alise's second hook to miss its mark altogether. A look of shock washed over Alise's face when the Titan seemed to flick its hand. Alise watched in horror as Xevera slipped from her grasp and went falling towards the Earth. Instead of the Titan continuing its attack, Alise was tossed away. Alise slammed into a branch and her fall was only broken by a lower branch. The blood that ran over her eyes made it hard to see for a moment.

When the Titan picked up her sister, Alise acted without thinking. She had used her ODM gear and made sure that hook was embedded into the Titan's wrist. She had gone to use her gear once more, but nothing happened. The right side of her gear had been ruined when the Titan flung her away. To ensure that her sister was not eaten, Alise jumped backwards in an attempt to create some form of leverage.

This Titan had been given two other people to eat and it decided to come back and focus on her sister. The look it had in its eyes made it seem like Xevera was all it truly wanted. While it had briefly looked towards Alise, its attention did not last. Despite being ignored, Alise refused to stop fighting. Losing another person to a Titan was out of the question.

The pull of the female Titan's hand caused Alise to be snatched back up. Before she could be pulled over the branch, Alise planted her feet and began to pull back. Titans were much stronger than them. It had been proven in more than one instant. When the surge of energy flooded her body once more Alise could feel the Titan struggling to pull away from her. Alise was determined to keep up this battle. That was until her branch gave way. With the movement of the Titan's hand, Alise looked as if she was a small ball hanging onto a string.

"Xevera don't you dare stop fighting. We will not go down that easily. If you won't do it for me, at least think about Misun and Tanith. We owe it to them to keep fighting."

Alise pulled out her blade and hurled it towards her sister when she noticed Xevera's hand. Instead of using the blade to cut into the Titan, Xevera wedged it into the Titan's mouth to ensure that it could not bite down onto her.

"I don't want to die!"

A blade could only take so much damage and Alise was sure that her blade would give in a matter of seconds. As she looked up at her sister, she thought about the connection that they had. Xevera was the only person that accepted her for what she was. Xevera had stopped her from falling into darkness so many times in the past. Xevera had been the one that kept her safe, despite what she liked to say. Without Xevera she was sure that she would not have gotten this far. Waking up to a day without Xevera because of some abomination was out of the question. Their mother had said that one day she would protect Xevera. As she dangled in the air, Alise realized that today was that day.

From her years of training, Alise knew that two blades were needed to take down a Titan. No one had ever slain a Titan with one blade. The feeling that washed over her told her that she had to try it. With a push of her button, Alise used the last bit of gas to push herself forward. As she passed by the Titan's hand she brought her blade up. To her amazement it cut through the Titan's arm with ease like a hot knife through butter. Her hook broke free and Alise made sure to land on the Titan's shoulder.

Protect her.

In order to get to the Titan's nape, she knew that she had to attack it from another angel. Alise pulled her hook out and tossed it in the direction of a nearby tree. Just as she had thought the female Titan had gone for her hook. Once her hook was secure in its hand, Alise allowed the Titan to swing her once more. As her body was spun around, Alise stuck her hand into her gear and freed her last blade. From clutching onto her blade, she could feel it cutting into her skin. The pain was growing unbearable by the second. The thought of losing her sister, caused her to push past the pain. Before the Titan could fling her into a tree, Alise cut her cord and went sailing into the sky. When she came down, she twisted her body so that she was able to cut clean into its nape.

Impact was a bit rougher than she had expected. While her bones hurt, Alise forced herself to limp towards Xevera. Xevera had managed to free herself, but she had not moved far from where the Titan's hand was. The pale color of her skin spoke of the blood that she had lost in the fight.

"I don't feel anything else around us. We can make it out of her Xevera, like I planned."

"Alise, you didn't let me die."

"I know, now we just got to keep moving."

Alise shook her head to stop her sister from talking. When she moved to pick up her sister, a sharp pain ran through her body. Her ribs were sensitive to the touch and she could feel that a few of them had been broken. While she wanted to lay down, the need to protect her sister forced her onwards. Through the pain she managed to get her sister situated on her back and began the long walk back towards where she knew some people would be.

"Alise, you have been the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I envied you for a while because our parents placed the whole world on your shoulder. My love for you caused me to forget my jealousy."

"I never had the world on my shoulders. You were the one that got stuck taking care of me and my bad temper."

"I wish that were true. I really meant it about loving you. Even when Sabrina died, I was never mad at you. That night I was just glad that you had not been killed."

Xevera's breathing started to sound force and yet Alise could not make her stop talking.

"I am sorry that Levi did not return your feelings that night. I thought about going over there and punching him, but I didn't. If you really like him then that is a fight you have to do on your own. When it comes to love, no one else can fight for you. We can only just encourage you."

Alise did not know what to say to her sister. She still cared for Levi and it became clear when she heard Ai mention his name. She had even thought about him back when she hung in the tree. Getting this far was not even certain, but thinking about him made her feel good. After everything that Levi had said, did she really have a chance with him.

"Promise me that you will smile. No matter how bad things get, pinkie promise me that you will never let this world take your smile away."

Alise looked towards the pinkie that was placed in front of her face. It took a moment before she allowed herself to lock fingers with her sister.

"I promise. Now just try to save your energy."

Xevera made a rather content sound and nuzzled her head against the back of Alise's head. As they continued walking, Alise began to feel the weight growing heavy on her back.

"Xevera how about we talk about something fun. Like the time that Tanith tried fighting those guards because she thought they took your money. Do you remember that?"

Alise waited for her sister to acknowledge her in someway, but her sister never said anything back.

"I remember she had punched one of the guards in the groin and I jumped in to assist her. By the end of the fight I had two black eyes. You called me a raccoon long after the fact. I thought I would never outgrow that nickname."

As she moved forward, Alise could feel her heartbreaking. She had tried to see through her tears, but the extra weight and the pain made her want to stop. The breathing that she had felt against her scalp had long stopped. All she had was this extra weight on her body. To know that her sister had died because of some dumb traitors pissed her off. The rage was not enough to eclipse the agony in her chest. While her body wanted to stop, Alise continued walking forward. There were voices in the distance, but Alise did not hear them. Her body was just mindlessly placing one foot in front of the other.

While Alise moved through the forest, Maya found herself standing in a group of men that were arguing with Levi and Commander Erwin. She did not care about their comrade since it was clear that he was dead. What mattered to her was the fact that her captain and Alise were missing. While Levi spoke coldly towards the men, she hoped that he would change his views about her leaders.

"Commander Erwin and Captain Levi, you both know that Captain Xevera and Alise have not made it back. They were dealing with some traitors and I am sure that they will be here any moment. We just got to wait for them or at least let me look for them."

"You are in no condition to do such a thing. You are injured and need to be resting."

Maya looked towards Commander Erwin when he spoke to her. She had never thought that someone like him would even care about her wounds. From the way things happened, she always thought that she was nothing in his eyes.

"It is just a minor wound. I can still function as a proper soldier."

"Tch."

"I mean no offense Captain Levi, but just because they don't mean anything to you does not mean the same can be said for others. Alise saved my life twice and she cared about this team. I know for a fact that those two are not dead like that fat lard told you. They are out there and they just need us. Allow me to at least leave her horse, she could be calling for it right now."

Maya fought back the tears that dared to blur her vision. The thought of losing Alise or Xevera because of these two became unbearable. Just as she felt a tear fall down her face, she heard Levi's voice.

"While we are in need of those horses, if you feel that it will help then leave it behind. Crying won't bring them back. When you are done you are to rest as instructed."

Maya nodded her head towards Levi and began guiding the horse towards the forest. She had been in the middle of soothing it when she heard the shout of another scout.

Out of the forest a battered and broken Alise made her presence known. Alise did not even bother to take in who was around her. When they began moving towards her, she felt her legs give out. As she hit the ground the dead weight fell from her body. Alise had started to look towards her sister when she felt someone grab onto her. Her eyes moved up to see Levi looking down at her. The look he gave her made her wonder if she had caused him to worry. After what he had said, she doubted she could even cause such a feeling.

"They took her from me."

"Stop talking."

Normally she would have snapped at him. From the way that she was feeling, yelling was out of the question. Her eyes moved towards Maya who had dropped down beside her. She wanted to tell the girl to stop crying, but it was hard. The weight that had been removed from her back, had not been taken off of her heart. As she lay on the ground the cold realization of her words sunk in. Xevera was gone and she was going to have to face Tanith and Misun alone. It was all brought about because some soldiers could not accept the roles they had freely signed up for.

Alise's tears fell to the ground beneath her. She could not feel the hands of people touching her and she did not care. The darkness that slipped over her mind provide her with her desired escape from all the noise and talking. She just hoped in this darkness she did not dream about her sister or the faces of anyone else that had died. The deeper she fell into the darkness, the more she wondered how she would ever keep her final promise to her sister.


	15. Chapter 15

Alise's breathing was growing steady and she felt as if she was covered in snow. Even though she tried to ignore the feeling, soon it became too much. Slowly her eyes opened, but then she closed them. The sunlight was too much, but she forced her eyes to battle the annoyance. Once her eyes were adjusted, Alise did nothing but stare up at the ceiling above her.

Promise me that you will smile.

The words caused Alise to wince in pain. Was that really the last time she would ever talk to her sister? She had to be dreaming. Her sister's laughter was still in her head. She could see her smile and the look of determination. A few weeks ago, they had been training together. She had even managed to convince her sister to get married. Xevera had to still be alive. There was so much that the two still had to face together. Facing the challenges in this world was not something she wanted to do alone.

"It is time to wake up."

Alise shot up quickly and turned to see Xevera standing there with her hands on her hips. Her attention only moved away from her sister when she noticed an ice bag falling to the floor.

"I thought you were dead."

"Dead, what made you think that? You really must have hit your head pretty hard for that."

"I suppose I did."

Alise brought her hand up to where she was sure would be a mark. When she touched the area, it was as if nothing had ever happened. She could have sworn that she hit her head, but there was nothing there. Maybe she had pushed herself a bit too hard.

"How long have I been in here for?"

"Not going to ask about the expedition?"

The sound of that word caused Alise's chest to clinch up. In an attempt to not sound crazy, she decided to push past the feeling.

"I am sure if I would have missed it, you would be in here nagging me. Come to think of it, why am I in here."

"You don't remember?"

"Not really. To be honest, what I remember is something that you would have dreamed up."

Alise turned to look for her clothing. Being in hospital attire was not something she felt comfortable in. The sooner she got out of this place, the better things would be.

"Now that you see that I am up, do you mind getting my clothes. I am sure the squad is in need of us."

"Alise, what happened in your dream?"

"Some stuff I don't want to talk about. You know I did things that I thought were not possible. It was kind of freaky and it made your crazy notions sound a bit sane. Now if we are done can you get me my clothes."

Alise had started to smile and continued to smile when Tanith walked into the room.

"Alise! You're awake."

Tanith's hug caused Alise to flinch for a moment and she patted her friend's back softly.

"Tanith you are holding onto me like I have been asleep for a while. Xevera will you get her off of me."

"Xevera?"

Alise looked away from Tanith and over towards where she had seen her sister. Her sister had been standing right there and now she was gone.

"She was just right there. We were just talking."

Tanith adjusted the ice bags and moved some so that she could sit beside Alise. The troubled look in Tanith's eyes caused Alise's heart to start racing.

"Don't say it."

"Alise, Xevera is dead. You are just hallucinating which can be expected since you have been running a rather high fever."

"I don't feel hot, I feel cold. Get these stupid ice bags off of me."

Alise tossed the nearest bag towards the wall and began to try and move away. She had seen Xevera and it was not some dumb illusion. Her sister had spoken to her and she felt her presence. She had not imagined any of this and she hated that Tanith would try to say otherwise.

When she tried to move out of the bed, Tanith grabbed onto her arm. Being touched did not make Alise feel any better. No matter what she did, Tanith would not release her grip.

"Alise you need to lay down. Your body still needs time to recover."

"What I need is for you to let go of me. Xevera went to get my clothes and will be back any moment. Now let go of me."

Alise's cold tone did not seem to bother Tanith. Since Tanith did not want to let go, Alise decided it was best to make her let go. A friend would not say the things that Tanith said, and a friend would not get in her way. The more she thought about the situation, the angrier she got. The familiar energy crept over her and Alise grabbed a hold of Tanith's wrist.

"I said get your hands off of me."

"Alise you are hurting me."

Now Tanith wanted to play the victim. Well she would not have been in this role if she would have just let her go.

"Let her go!"

Alise turned suddenly when she noticed Levi and Hange standing in her doorway. The feeling that had taken over her vanished and her grip relaxed enough for Tanith to slip away.

"Where is my sister?"

"Xevera is dead and has been dead for the past week. You need to get a hold of yourself and stop lashing out."

Levi's tone stirred a lot of feelings inside of her. While she wanted to be angry, she could feel the pain in her chest returning. It felt as if everything at once was rushing back into her memory. The Titan, the traitors, and her sister's last words. Thinking about it caused Alise to ball up her fist and slam it into a nearby wall. Just as her tears started to fall, she felt Tanith latch onto her.

"I am sorry I hurt you Tanith. I didn't mean to."

"It is okay. You lost your sister, but I am here for you. I am not going anywhere, I promise."

"It should have been me that was shot. Why couldn't they just keep running? You know I actually saved her from being eaten and she told me that she wanted to live. She practically screamed it and yet she is gone."

Alise leaned into Tanith's arms and did not bother to look at Hange or Levi. She did not want them to see her like this.

"Alise, there was nothing that you could have done to save Xevera. The bullet pierced some of her internal organs and it created a slow but steady bleed. Even if you would have gotten her to the wagons. She would have died on our way back."

Hearing Hange's words caused Alise to lift her head. She could still see the wound in her sister's body. It did not help that the Titan had grabbed onto her. Even if they would have avoided it, nothing would have saved her sister. It was all Snow's fault.

"Tell me that you all caught Snow and Ai."

"We didn't see them and with their lack of supplies, they will not last long."

Alise grip tightened when she heard Levi's words. Those bastards were still out there. She was not going to be happy until she found their rotting corpses.

"Can I at least see where you all buried her?"

The words came out softly and were a bit forced. No matter how the facts were presented to her, it did not make anything easier. Xevera was truly dead.

"In order to save your life and many others, I gave the order for the dead to be left behind."

"You did what?"

Alise pulled away from Tanith and glared at Levi. How dare he leave her sister behind. Her sister had done so much for the Corps and she deserved a proper grave. She did not deserve to rot out there in the field. The urge to punch him grew ever stronger and the look of hatred intensified when he moved closer to her.

"If she was one of your damn friends, you would not have left her out there. Just because you lost the people you cared about does not give you a right to take from me."

"My squad were among the bodies that got left behind."

A blank look ran across her face and Alise instantly felt bad. It appeared as if a lot had happened that she did not even know about. When Levi placed a pair of broken glasses onto her lap, Alise regretted what she had said. Xevera never really wore her glasses unless she had to read. She always kept them tucked away in her pocket as a just in case.

"Levi…"

"Don't bother."

Alise held the glasses close to her chest and looked towards Tanith.

"Is it wrong of me not to want to give Misun these?"

"No, Levi gave Misun her emblem."

She had misjudged Levi. This whole time she thought that he was heartless and someone that could not do something like this. While he had to deal with the pain of losing his squad, he had taken the time to do something nice for her. If he ever gave her the chance, she was going to have to make it up to him.

"There has been a lot that has happened and we will need to feel you in on the matter. Forgive me for asking this, but Tanith I need you to leave the room for a while."

Hange's words were soft and yet stern at the same time. The look in Hange's eyes told her that something important was about to be discussed.

"I will be back to check on you later on. I shall inform Misun that you are awake."

Tanith reluctantly released Alise and made her way towards the door. Once she outside, Hange stuck her head in the hallway for a while. When the coast was clear, she kicked the door closed behind her and practically darted towards Alise. Alise had no idea what came over Hange. Before she could say anything, Hange was running her fingers through her hair and checking her over. It made Alise feel as if she was some kind of lab rat.

"Hange what is wrong with you."

The sudden jab in her skin caused Alise to jump slightly.

"Interesting."

"Do you hear me talking to you?"

Hange did not reply and began to write things down in a notebook. Just as she was about to poke her again, Levi grabbed a hold of Hange's hand.

"Four eyes, if you poke her again, I am not going to save you."

Hange began to chuckle and placed the needle down on the table beside her.

"What the hell is wrong with you Hange! You kick Tanith out of the room just so that you can do crap like that."

The serious look that came over Hange's face was something that she was very familiar with. It was a look that Hange had when she made a discovery and was about to explain everything. Of course, during her explanation, Hange's excitement would grow and Alise was sure it would result in more pain for her.

"Alise can you tell me what happened during the expedition?"

"Are you serious right now?"

"Trust me."

"I was killing a few Titans when suddenly this large Female Titan appeared. It was clear that she was an Abnormal Titan and she led a hoard of Titans in our direction. I sent Maya ahead to warn the others while I dealt with the Titans that broke away from the Female Titan. When I learned about the traitors I went looking for them. I broke procedure because I needed to find the three of them. Because I disobeyed my orders, I found out that there were more traitors. Xevera killed most of them, but she was shot while we were talking. I didn't even see them. During that time another Titan appeared, and it tried to eat Xevera, but I stopped it."

"Did you feel anything while you were facing those Titans?"

"A weird feeling that I cannot explain."

"Is it just a feeling or something more."

"More than a feeling. It is power that I cannot explain and yet it feels natural."

Hange flipped open her notebook and stopped when she found the page that she was looking for.

"The doctors noted that you had fractured bones in your legs, broken several ribs, and you sustained several cuts. Before I go any further, tell me how that happened."

Alise could see something developing inside of Hange's brain from the look she was being given. While she wanted to lie, she was curious as to what was going on. Xevera had made claims about her that she did not understand. From her sister's words, she had a feeling that Xevera was keeping something from her. The last time they tried talking, she had told Xevera that she was losing it. If Xevera had been right, she would truly hate herself for not listening.

"During the attack, I was flung into a branch."

"You were not snapped in half!"

"No, I just felt a lot of pain in my side. Anyway, I was towards the last of my gas supply and I sank my hook into the Titan's wrist. I had planted my feet and pulled to ensure that it did not eat Xevera. That all happened when I felt that power. I could actually feel it trying to break free of me. To be honest, I didn't feel any pain in my legs. The only thing I felt was the branch breaking. That power allowed me to cut off its arm with just one blade. It also allowed me to deliver the final blow later on. Without that power, I doubted I would have made it out of the forest."

"How big was the Titan."

"It was either 10m or 11m. Why?"

"You are still alive. That is amazing!"

Hange had started to move again when Levi grabbed onto her shoulder.

"Calm down Maniac."

"Hange, why did you ask me that?"

Hange did her best to compose herself and placed her book down on the bed beside Alise.

"On the first night that you were here, you suddenly started burning up. The doctors tried getting medicine into your mouth, but it could not be done. Then they decided to give you an injection."

Hange slammed a few broken needles down on the bed and began to pace the room.

"Each time they tried to inject you, the needle would break and in once case it bent. It was clear that you had an infection, or so they thought. In order to keep you from frying every cell in your body, it was ordered that you be dropped in ice water. You were in the ice bath for roughly four days. While you were in the ice bath, I noticed something. When Eren is injured his body lets off steam, but he is healing himself. Your body was doing the exact same thing, except in a different way."

"I am not a Titan."

Alise did not bother to hide the disgust in her eyes. She did not dislike Eren because he was different than those mindless things she killed. The idea of being anything like those creatures disturbed her.

"Oh no, you are nothing magnificent as that. You are totally different. Like I was saying, your body was heating up, in what I believe to be the healing stage. Eren has a red look to him and you are bluer. On top of that, your heat is not unbearable. The way your skin responded did remind me of this."

Alise caught the crystal-like rock that was thrown at her. She had never seen it before, and she doubted that they found it in the forest.

"I didn't know you collected rocks."

"That came from the Female Titan. She is actually enclosed in a hard casing made out of that kind of material."

"You all caught the Female Titan. What else did I miss?"

"The destruction of a district, the death of a few church members, and a Titan being in our Wall. None of that is important right now. Your skin hardened while you were sleeping and we could do nothing to help you out. It was like your body did not want our help during the process. I do wonder if we would have done something, would it have thrown your healing process off."

Hange grabbed onto Alise's hand and brought it up for Alise to look at.

"You had a deep cut here and yet today there is nothing there. You had a scar running across your skull and that is gone as well. If you don't mind me asking, how does this feel."

Hange applied some pressure to Alise's rib cage which caused Alise to flinch.

"It is still rather painful but nothing that I cannot deal with."

"You are not completely healed then. You are awake enough to function. Does that mean that there was more damage done to your body that we didn't see? With all of that damage you were still able to walk."

Hange was mostly talking to herself and Alise decided not to interrupt her thought process. Instead, she allowed her eyes to move towards her hand. She had hurt herself when she gripped onto the blade. That wound was long gone, and it was part of the reason why she thought she had been dreaming.

"I feel as if you are awake because your body has gotten you out of the woods. The drop in the fever means that your body is done working overtime. Minor things healed rather quickly during that process, but not the bones. The only way to truly tell is to put you back to sleep or for you to sustain more damage. It would be done for the sake of science, of course."

Alise backed away from Hange and made sure to keep her hands away from Hange. Hange's grip was stronger than any Titan.

"If you don't mind me stating, there is a minor problem. You all are telling me that I have been asleep for the past week. While I slept my body started healing itself. If that is the case, wouldn't that mean that Xevera was still alive and just sleeping."

There was a bit of hope in her voice as she spoke of her sister. If her sister was alive then they needed to go back out there and find her. Titans rarely picked up random dead bodies and ate them. Titans mostly focused on living things.

"She didn't have a pulse and trust me, I checked. You had a pulse the entire time."

Hange's tone did not change. It was as if the notion of Xevera being alive was unimportant and unrealistic. Despite her tone, Alise was not going to give up that easily.

"What if she is though? You are comparing me to a Titan and it is clear that something is wrong with me. Since Xevera and I share the same parents, I cannot be that different. No experiment was done on me. If I can heal myself then there is a chance that Xevera can do the same thing."

"If she was alive then maybe we would know. Xevera is dead and is not coming back."

Hange placed her hand on Alise's shoulder for a moment. As her hand lingered there, Alise slowly accepted Hange's words. Hange's touch did not last long and soon she was moving away.

"I need to check on Eren and speak with Commander Erwin. His trial will be held tonight and there are a few things we need to go over."

"Hange?"

"Don't worry. You are a Captain in the Survey Corps. Nothing bad is going to happen to you. You are ours to protect."

As Hange left, the words sunk in. With Xevera gone, she was now the captain of the Grim Squad. It was a day that most people would be happy for. This was not something that she wanted. She wanted to stay under her sister's command until the day she died. This life was something she was going to have to get used to.

"Please don't leave yet. I know I have no right to ask you, but please stay."

Alise spoke quickly when she noticed Levi trying to leave. The look he gave her caused her to wonder if he would actually do it. When he moved to sit down by her bed, Alise turned so that she was looking at him.

"I should not have snapped at you. This has been a rather rough day for me. I know that it has been a tough week for you. You lost your entire squad. I always thought that they were untouchable."

"They were human and going against a Titan that was trained just like them."

"Either way, I am sorry for your loss. I thank you for doing that for Misun. You are not what I thought."

"Just because I don't display how I feel does not mean I am heartless. I have learned how to handle myself and if people don't like it that is their problem."

Alise looked down towards her hands as she thought about him. He was right about not displaying his feelings. He was far from approachable and he gave off a rather cold vibe. If anyone was stupid enough to look into his eyes, then they would regret it. From what she had heard, people that were a part of his squad respected him and saw a side of him that no one else got to see. It was a side that she longed to truly see a long time ago.

"Pipsqueak what the hell are you thinking about?"

"I was thinking about the other night when I told you that I liked you. After that night, I hated thinking about you. When I was out there alone facing the hoard of Titans, I thought about you and all the things I have done with you. Granted a lot of it involved you hitting me, but it was still good memories. Even if you don't like me, I don't think I could ever hate you."

"Tch."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? I am trying to be nice and you make that annoying sound."

"You confess your feelings a week before we were to leave. Instead of sticking to how you feel, you compare and bring up Petra more than once. I told you that night that I didn't know how I felt. Instead of acting mature and allowing the conversation to keep going, you shut down and ran away."

"Forgive me for not wanting to stick around. Usually when a person is rejected, they leave."

"I am not done."

"Not like I can run out of this room, so please continue."

Alise crossed her arms and winced slightly from the pain. She had brought this upon herself and it was time to hear what Levi had to say.

"I told you that night to not put words into my mouth and to not assume anything about my feelings. How I felt about you was something I did my best not to think about. I remembered the time that you brought me the tea and stayed with me. I also remembered how you looked the night you lost Sabrina. Your eyes reminded me of my own. Except when you needed me, I didn't reach out to you. I figured your sister and Tanith would help spark that look once more. If they didn't then someone else would."

"I didn't deserve to be happy after what happened to Sabrina. I was a coward that night and I messed up more than once. Each time she saved me. When she needed me the most, I could not do anything. When I did become strong enough, it was too late."

"My friends didn't have to die that night. I left them alone to pursue something and when I came back, they were dead. If I would have stayed, things would have been a lot different. Instead of blaming myself, I use their deaths as a lesson. I don't act unless I am sure my actions will be of some benefit."

"I told myself I would never lose another friend to a Titan. More importantly, fear would not control me."

"You are pretty fearless and stupid at times."

"Stupid, reckless, none of that really bothers me. Getting the job done with as few deaths as possible is all that matters."

"You are willing to sacrifice yourself for the safety of others."

"I have always been about protecting others. My squad mattered to me even when I didn't want them to. I didn't know their names or much about them. I wanted to keep them alive to make Xevera look good. Deep down, I think I was scared to tell another family that they have lost someone. The looks are far worse than some of the deaths that I have seen."

Alise sat in silence, not really sure of what to say to him. She didn't want him to leave, but she didn't want to ramble on and on. In time he was sure to leave, especially since Commander Erwin had a trial coming up.

"Petra was not right because she would have never been the woman to make me happy. While she was devoted, that is not the only thing I am looking for. When I think about it, I doubt anyone knows how to actually comfort a person."

Alise's eyebrow rose when he started talking. She didn't remember speaking with him about any of that. The one time she did bring it up, she was certain that she had been talking to her sister or Tanith.

"You followed me to my room?"

"Like I said, you are not perfect, and neither am I. Hell I brought you glasses."

"I brought you tea. In my book, the glasses are far better than the tea."

"The tea was far better than your shitty cleaning."

Alise laughed and stuck out her tongue when she looked at him.

"It would have been a lot better if you would have stopped moving my rag around that night."

"Whatever you like to tell yourself."

Alise moved closer to him and was glad to see that he had not gotten up to move away.

"Levi?"

"What runt?"

"Would things be different if I would have joined your squad?"

"Yes, I would have been stuck with your shitty cleaning."

Alise narrowed her eyes at him. Her cleaning was not all that bad. She had only missed a few areas because she felt rather nervous when she got too close to him.

"I assure you that my cleaning habits have changed. Seriously, if I was under your command I don't think you would have allowed me to express my feelings."

"I would have, but I don't think it would have done much. Besides, I would not have gone looking for you when you didn't appear with the rest of your squad."

"You went looking for me."

Alise tried to hide the joy in her tone, but the look on her face conveyed it all.

"Calm down."

"It is still nice to know that you went looking for me. I figured you didn't care."

"It won't be made into a habit. Just make sure you don't do anything reckless again Runt."

Levi moved to stand up and as he moved, she noticed that something was off about him. Instead of saying anything, Alise reached her hand out and grabbed onto his arm.

"Levi, does what Hange said make me less of a person in your eyes."

Even now, Alise found herself still wanting to have his acceptance.

"Whatever is going on does not change anything. At the end of the day, I will always be the one that can put you on your back. Now get some rest, I cannot promise that I will be around the next time Hange appears."

Alise offered him a weak smile and allowed her hand to slip away. As he left the room, she began to think about what they spoke about. She had wondered if she had heard him correctly. Had he implied that he had some form of feelings for her. Maybe it was the grief that made her put more into his words. There was the chance that he had said those types of things because he was hurting as well. When she looked towards the broken glasses that he had given her, Alise could not help but smile.

"Even in death you still find a way to bring him close to me."

The pain in her chest had not gone away. There was a slight ease to it. In time she was going to have to leave this room to face her squad. Going forward, no matter what happened she was not going to run. Hange had told her that the Corps had her back and she believed her. The only thing left for her to focus on was how she was going to fill the shoes her sister left for her. More importantly she needed to understand what her body was doing. Allowing Hange a few experiments would not be all that bad.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zilla
> 
> Age: 30
> 
> Appearance: She has red pixie haircut, stands at 173cm, and has an athletic build. Her skin is flawless. She has made sure her nails look like claws and she has rather pointy canines.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from Shingeki no Kyojin, they all belong to the lovely Hajime Isayama. The only characters I own are the ones I made up. Also, I did not make the image I am using. That image was found online and all rights belong to original designer.

Several times Alise found herself wanting to turn around and head right back to the medical room. The nurse had tried to get her to stay in bed, but she was not going to listen to her. The looks they gave her made her feel uneasy. They were looking at her as if she was a monster. The last she checked, she did not turn into a Titan and she was not a threat to anyone. The people she wanted dead where on the other side of the Wall. They had better hope that a Titan got to them before she did. When she reached the doors of her base, Alise let out a low sigh and pushed them open.

People were moving all over the base trying to get things in order. There was chaos for the first time and Alise didn't know what to say. Yelling at them to stop seemed a bit rude. She was in no shape to start bossing people around. While she pondered what to say, suddenly the noise in the room started to lower.

"Alise!"

Vanessa leaned over the side of the banister for a moment and then quickly darted down the stairs. She pushed anyone who got in her way out of the way. Within seconds she had her arms wrapped around Alise.

"I thought you were going to die. They said you were getting worse each day."

Alise brought her hand up and rested it lightly on Vanessa back. It felt good to be held by someone from her squad. While she did not want to cry, she felt her eyes watering up. She did not get to see everyone that had been killed and she feared she had lost so many. To know that Vanessa was still around made her feel a lot better.

"It is good to see you too."

"Step aside, we want to see her for ourselves."

The voice of Zamon caused Alise to turn her head. Standing around her from her original squad were Resse, Izo, and Maya.

"What happened to Azriel and Doran?"

Zamon looked down towards the ground before he forced himself to talk.

"Doran went after the Female Titan when she came into the forest. He said it was going to make for a good letter. Azriel died when the others turned on us. I would have died as well, but Captain Xevera stepped in and saved me."

"How were the rest of you spared?"

"The captain had us go and assist with the capture of the Female Titan since we were further ahead. It was supposed to be our duty to distract the Titan for a bit and then to go and meet up with the others."

Alise nodded her head towards Izo when he answered her question. It seemed like the only person that was supposed to experience high loss was her group. Why Commander Erwin had broken them up in such a manner was beyond her knowledge. One of these days she was going to find out. If he had not caused them to split up, she was certain that things would have turned out differently. Things were different and she had to think about the soldiers in front of her, along with the remaining rookies.

"Come along, it is better if we talk in the kitchen."

Maya had mentioned putting on a pot of tea and Alise nodded her head. Anything was better than the crap she had eaten in the infirmary. Once everyone was seated, Alise moved to the head of the table.

Looking at everyone from this angel felt different. Normally when she was put on the spot, she would scan the room and see her sister smiling at her. There was no one to cheer her on and there was no one to make her feel at ease. When she touched her pocket, the feeling of her sister's glasses caused her to relax.

"As you all know, we lost a lot of good people out there. Some to the Titans and others to a group of cowards. Unfortunately your captain was among the casualties. Until Commander Erwin says otherwise, I will be in charge from now on."

Alise placed her sister's glasses down on the table for everyone to see.

"Xevera was all about compassion and pushing you to do your best. Most of you would say that I was the exact opposite. If you all had a choice, I am sure that most of you all would have wanted for the roles to have been switched."

"Captain, forgive me for interrupting, but I don't think any of us wanted the roles switched. We are family and we are happy with whoever we get stuck with, even if it is you."

Reese's comment caused some of the people in the room to smile. For a moment Alise did not know how to feel. When a smile came to her face, she could feel the mood in the room shift.

"I am not giving away brownie points right now. What I wanted to say was that these glasses will sit by the front door. Xevera will always be watching over us. She wanted to walk into a place that felt like home and I am going to make sure it stays like that. Tough love is something that I deal in and I am going to make this squad rival the best squads out there. You may be the bottom of the barrel to some, but you are the cream of the crop to me."

"We are like the fat on the steak."

"I would not go that far rookie. I will compare you to meat when you do something to impress me. Right now, you are like a plump tomato."

"I like to think of myself as a hot pepper. Something that everyone likes, but no one is going to mess with."

The room laughed at Zamon's comment and Alise allowed herself to finally sit down. Sitting at the table were two faces that she had not seen before. The male rookie had spoken up earlier but the female said nothing.

"Your faces are new to me and I am going to admit that I have forgotten your names. I promise you that after tonight, I shall forget nothing about you. Tell me, Prime Cut, what is your name?"

"The name is Jared and my friends call me Jud. I actually served in the Garrison and I decided that I was sick of living like a coward. My papers were finalized a few days ago, hence why I am here. To be honest, none of us are rookies, everyone from the hundred and fourth Corps were taken away."

That was the first time she had heard of something like that happening. With everything going on, it made sense why Hange had neglected to tell her that.

"Well the floor is now all yours, who are you?"

The female offered Alise a smile, but no words fell from her lips.

"We called her Wis. She has not talked in the last three years of me knowing her. She transferred over with me."

A puzzled look came across Alise's face when she looked towards the woman. In their field, communication was important. Even if Wis could not talk, she would find a way to make things work.

"How am I going to know if you are in trouble?"

Wis lifted her necklace and attached to the bottom was a whistle. When she blew on it, the sound was one that she had not heard before. It was unique and something she would not forget.

"Got it."

Alise turned towards the duo when they began moving around the kitchen.

"Well you two are in for a treat. Reese and Izo are the best cooks in our squad. There is nothing that they have made that I don't like."

There was no point in talking about drills or rules. Today was all about relaxing and having a good time. As she leaned back into her chair, Alise thought about ways that she could better this squad without causing them to hate her. She was going to make her sister proud, but she was going to do it in a way that suited her.

While Alise leaned back in her chair, a female figure sat perched on a rather uncomfortable shoulder. The ride on this hairy mammoth would not have been all that bad if a few traits were removed. The first trait being the fact that the creature smelled terrible in her opinion. The next trait was the fact that she hated all things attached to this creature and his pathetic kind. The final trait was that she hated being touched by them. In her mind, they were the dirtiest things that walked and deserved to be cut down. When the moon was high in the sky a fun night of torture was always another good option to deal with them. The female that held such a loathsome view of Titans was called Zilla.

To ensure that none of the Titan filth got onto her, she had dressed to cover every inch of her body. It was a rare thing to see, since she enjoyed exposing her skin to the sun. When it came to this situation, protection from germs was far more important. As the lumbering fool took another step forward, Zilla was forced to grab onto its hair.

"Do you think you could walk with some form of grace? Your stench is already unbearable and if I have to go any longer, I may just lose it."

Zilla pulled on the creature's hair, but her comments did nothing to it. It had been decided that she had to partner up with Zeke to ensure that everything was going according to plan. Zeke was not someone that most people would dare to cross. Zeke, along with anyone else that shared his bloodline was beneath her. No matter how big he was, there was nothing that he could do to her. If he did touch her, there were five other people that would deal with him.

"Are you listening to me?"

"I have been listening to your complaints for the past several days. Now remain silent and observe."

"Don't forget who you are talking to."

"Don't forget whose truly in charge."

In charge! The nerve of that man to even say such words out loud. In Marley her kind were at the top of the food chain. His kind was lucky to get any crumbs that fell out of the barrel. If that bumbling buffoon would have told Zeke that she was truly in charge, then this all would be different. Her role should not have been to observe and report, it should have been to observe and lead. To put their faith in the hands of these creatures was unacceptable in her eyes. If their fearless leader was here, things would have been a lot different. Rules were rules and for the time being Zilla would play along.

With a sigh of defeat, Zilla allowed herself to plop down on his shoulder once more. She pulled her brown robe over her legs, so that she could blend in with him once more. When Zeke made a strange noise, Zilla allowed her gave to scan the horizon.

There were a group of Titans that were trying to eat a human. Anything in this area was fair game in her eyes. She truly hoped that the bastard was torn apart.

"This shall be an interesting show. The fact that it takes nine Titans to kill a man, sounds more like a joke to me."

Zilla spoke in a rather bored fashion and almost lost her balance when some of Zeke's hair touched her cheek. She had been in the middle of cleaning her face when she noticed that the human was going on the attack. Had this man truly lost his marbles. No matter, any show at this point beat the useless walking around. Minus the people that inhabited these lands, this place would actually have been nice to inhabit.

The fact that this man had turned the tables in his favor caused Zilla to feel shocked. If she was able to report how useless these Titans were, then maybe things would change for the better. Pawns had to be used for the real game to be played, or so she had heard.

When Zeke moved to grab the man's horse a twisted smile spread across her face. His aim almost made her want to give him a compliment. Doing something like that was out of the question. In her eyes, he was just proving to her how he could be useful and nothing more.

"You aim could use a bit more work."

Zilla mumbled her comment under her breath and decided not to say anything else. It was not until Zeke bashed in a Titan's skull that she allowed herself to let out a low growl. Instead of trying to remain hidden, Zilla allowed her face to turn so that she could look at this spectacular excuse of a man.

He was not ugly, but because she knew what he was there was no use of looking any further. The questions that Zeke asked were ones that she wanted answers to. The device that granted them the ability to fly like a bird was something she wanted to know more about. More than anything, she wanted to know why such creatures had the ability to use such a thing. It was not fair that they got something this cool. When the man refused to talk, Zilla found herself growing impatient.

"Just take it already. If he tries anything, I will finally get to have some fun."

To her disappointment, the man offered no resistance. He coward in the presence of something he should have fought. It would have been nice to get her hands dirty with his blood. The blood of a coward was not something she liked having on her hands. With the device now in his hands, Zilla turned in time to see the final show.

"After a while, their screams all sound the same. Now let me see that device you have in your hand."

Zilla did not wait for Zeke to respond and moved to grab a whip like device that was attached to her hip. With a flick of her wrist, the whip wrapped around one of Zeke's fingers. Once she was inside of his hand, she began to look the device over.

"This is a rather interesting device. I wonder how long it allows them to fly. It would be interesting to see if the others know how to use it. This can give us the edge we need."

"We won't need you now that I am here."

Zilla allowed her hood to fall off her head, revealing her pixie red haircut.

"You and your dumb Unit are not the saviors that some claim you to be. The six of us are the only saviors of Marley and you better remember that."

As Zeke's hand started to close, Zilla used her whip to secure herself on his shoulder once more. From the way that he had moved, her face nuzzled against his hair sending a chill throughout her body. The sudden feeling of disgust caused her to nearly be squashed by Zeke's hand. If it had not been for her reflexes, she was certain he would have killed her.

"It is best that you remember I am in charge Zilla. Your death can be written up as a casualty and nothing more."

"The same goes for you Zeekie Boy."

Zilla allowed her hands to rest on her weapon. Instead of pulling it out, she sat down and began rubbing a cloth over her face. With the germs removed, she pulled her hood back up slowly and looked out towards the horizon. If she did not find something soon to entertain her, she was certain she would lose her mind.

The food that Reese and Izo made was delicious. Alise had not realized how hungry she was until she downed her first plate. It felt like the more food she put in, the faster her body burned it. By the time she finished her fourth plate, Alise felt slightly content.

"Captain you sure can put it away."

Alise looked towards Jared when he spoke up. He really had no room to talk, since he stacked most of his plate to the brim. While he only had three plates, it was nearly like six or seven in her eyes.

"When it is good, it is good. I bet this is better than any meal they gave you all in the Garrison."

"It is seasoned with love instead of some kind of liquor, that is for sure."

"Here I thought the Brigade did all of the drinking."

When she was growing up, Xevera and her could drink most members of the Garrison under the table. It was the Brigade that gave them the most trouble. Over time she slowed down on drinking. She did not look down on it when others did it because it was something they needed. With the things they saw, anything to relax them was fine in her books. Just as long as it did not interrupt their training or performance.

"We taught those boys how to drink. Isn't that right Wis?"

Vanessa walked into the room with a bottle in her hand. She poured everyone a shot and looked towards Alise.

"If it is alright with you, mind if we all drink tonight."

"We have all been through hell, so taking a day off is respected and needed. More importantly, there is a rule we never discussed. That rule is to never waste a bottle."

"Here is to taking back our homes and to a new family. Now let's show these newbies who is really at the top."

Alise nodded in approval to Vanessa's words and downed the contents of her glass quickly. Vanessa was about to pour them another glass when suddenly a soldier burst into the room.

"Wall Rose has been breached."

The joyful feeling that had filled the room, was quickly killed. Alise pushed herself up onto her feet and began moving towards the door.

"Vanessa and Maya, you two are in charge until I return."

Wall Rose should have never been touched and yet it had happened. Hange had mentioned that Commander Erwin was on trial. In order to get some answers, she knew that she had to track down one of them. As her horse moved through the streets, she caught sight of a wagon carrying Hange, Levi, and a priest. Alise caused her horse to block off the wagon before it could go any further.

"Hange what is going on?"

Alise moved towards the back of the wagon and looked over the others. Seeing Armin and Mikasa with Eren came as no surprise. The trio were rather close from what she had heard. To know that they were not sent with the others meant that there was more to the story.

"We are moving towards Wall Rose. Since you have not been cleared for duty, it is best that you return to your squad."

There was no way that Alise was going to sit on the sidelines. She had slept through the most important things and missed so many other things. Missing anything else was out of the question.

"Hange we both know that Commander Erwin will not care if I go along. More importantly are you telling me that you are going to pass on a scientific discovery."

The look she gave Hange was all she needed to make the woman smile.

"Hurry up and sit down, we need to get moving."

Alise took up sitting across from the pastor and looked towards Armin when he started speaking. The reason for why the pastor was brought along was a rather interesting one. The priest knew that there was a Titan in the Wall. Nick had come along to test his own belief and to decide if he was going to be of any help. The amount of people that died because of those precious Walls, should have been enough to make that man talk.

The look on Nick's face caused Alise's stomach to turn. Not once in her life could she think about a positive interaction she had with him. When she was on the streets, he allowed his followers to throw water on her and her sister when they passed out by the Wall. He had called them scum and many other words and never offered them a safe place to rest.

Before anyone could say anything else, Alise slammed her foot in between Nick's leg. She made sure to miss his groin, but the tip of her toe was rather close to it.

"Your precious fucking Wall had a Titan inside of it. You of all people know what they are capable of. You chose to treat people like me like shit when it should have been the exact opposite."

Her attention turned to Levi when she noticed something in his jacket. When he spoke, his tone was colder than usual.

"Talk or not, one of your followers is sure to break."

"He is going to break, and I am going to make sure of it."

Alise allowed for her foot to drop down and she continued to glare at Nick. If she could have, she would have strangled him with the necklace that hung around his neck. Knowing that some of his followers had died because of the Female Titan and Eren caused her to cool off for the moment.

"Hange, what are you looking at?"

Alise turned to see that Armin was talking about the rock in Hange's hand. From their earlier conversation, Alise knew that it was obtained from Annie. What Hange said next caught her completely off guard.

"The wall and this fragment are made up of the same material. If Eren is able to turn and harden his body, then it can stop the flow of Titans."

"How do you know that it will be successful?"

Nick spoke in a low voice, and the look on his face said that he was not impressed by this idea.

"On a minor scale we have seen what it can do. We have tried to get to Annie, but she is unreachable. It does not go away and is a lasting move. In all honesty, you have no choice but to go along with what is going on."

The look Alise gave Nick told him that it was best if he did not say anything else.

"What other scientific discovery are you trying to make?"

There was no use in trying to get anything by Armin. This kid was smart in ways that she was still trying to understand. With things about Eren being out in the open, Alise saw no point in trying to keep any secrets. Although it would have been ideal if Nick was not around.

"We don't know what is going on with me. I just know that…."

"You are an abomination, that is what is going on. There is nothing divine about your existence and it would have been better if you both died out there."

Alise slammed her foot into Nick's groin and then snatched him up out of his seat.

"Your precious Wall is the only abomination and any that worshipped it got what was coming to them. It is just a shame that your head was not cracked open. If you ever mention my sister again, I will kill you."

Alise slammed him down into a seat and turned towards Eren when he spoke up.

"What is going on with you?"

"I should have a scar going across my head and in my hand. None of those wounds exist because my body got rid of them. Hange said that I ran a fever the entire time I was asleep. When I woke up, I didn't feel bad. The only pain I am in comes when I move too much. In all honesty, I should be dead right now. I am not and I want to know why. If allowing Hange to have some fun gets me some answers, then I am all for it."

"In time…"

Levi nudged his gun against the side of Nick's body.

"You have said enough."

Alise sat down once more and looked towards Eren who appeared to be deep in thought.

"Despite not knowing what is going on with your body, you will keep pushing yourself to discover more answers. If you are willing to keep searching, then there is no point in me not trying. Maybe in the basement, my father will have some notes on you."

"Even if he doesn't, whatever is in that basement will be worth the risk."

Alise smiled towards Eren and allowed herself to lean back against the wagon. Grabbing Nick had caused her rib cage to hurt once more. Despite what she wanted to do, it was clear that her body was not ready to do anything else.

When they reached the Ehrmich District, the wagon suddenly stopped. Alise listened as Levi spoke about leaving with the Priest. When he spoke to Mikasa, Alise could only look at the two. She could sense something was there, but she was not certain if the feeling was returned. Whatever was going on between them was of no concern to her. Just as the wagon was about to start moving, Alise jumped off and moved towards Levi.

"What are you doing?"

"No worries, I am not following you like I am some lost dog. I just want to make sure Humanity's Strongest does not get beat up by a Wall loving Maniac."

Alise looked towards his leg and then focused on the crowd that was around them. Watching all of these people move reminded her of the uncertainty she felt when the Titans first appeared. She thought about Tanith and Sabrina and everyone that ever lost someone they loved. While she was lost in her thoughts, she noticed a small girl standing in the middle of the crowd crying.

"Don't cry, it will be okay."

"I cannot find my Mommy."

"I will help you find her."

Alise extended her hand for the child to take and began searching the crowd. No matter where they turned, the girl did not see who she was looking for. It was not until the child's name was called out that the girl tears seemed to slow down. Alise watched as the child ran into the arms of her mother. While it was a touching scene, she knew that in some place a child would not be reunited with their parents. The idea of seeing small bodies scattered across the ground was not something she wanted to think about.

When she finally rejoined the group, she noticed that Hange was snapping at Nick. She had no idea what Levi had tried, but it had not worked. Nothing was going to get through to this man. The thought of more people dying caused Alise to close in on him.

Alise grabbed onto his collar and instantly felt the pain run through her body. Instead of stopping she slammed Nick against a nearby wall.

"You may not care about the adults, but there are children out there. You are going to stand there and allow innocent children to suffer because of your Wall. For once in your life try not to be so selfish. You are a religious man and I am certain you know the difference between right and wrong."

Alise released her grip on his collar and forced Nick to look out onto the crowd that he had turned his back on.

"Back home, you were safe. I bet you all felt secure until that Titan dropped a roof on your heads. In that moment I bet you felt fear. That feeling is the same thing that they are feelings, except now something can be done. You can actually do something good for once in your miserable life. Are you truly going to allow them to die because your too scared to say something?"

When Nick pulled away from her, Alise noticed the look on his face. She could tell that he was conflicted.

"I don't want anyone to die, but it is against my morals and what is right for me to open my mouth."

"Pathetic!"

Alise started to move past him but stopped when he began speaking once more.

"There have always been ways around such dilemmas. While I nor any of my followers can talk, I know of someone who can be of assistance. Despite how young she is, she can be of great help."

"You are willing to sacrifice another just to protect yourself and the church?"

Hange said the exact thing that Alise was thinking. At this point, Alise did not care. Any help was better than the lack of help they were getting.

"It has to be done. The girl you are looking for is using a fake name. She is an offspring from an illicit affair. With the blood that runs through her veins, she has a right to speak openly. She is someone that the three of you may know."

Alise was starting to wonder how many secrets did the hundred and fourth corps have. The Female Titan belonged to them, along with Eren, and now someone with royal blood was in their group. She hoped that this group did not have any more surprises.

"There are a lot of females in the corps. What is her name?"

Alise was growing impatient and did not have time to beat around the bush.

"Krista!"

Watching the trio move meant that they knew exactly who she was. When they started to describe her, Alise just looked towards Nick.

"You truly are something else Nick, but at least you said something."

Alise moved to rest against a wall and allowed the others to scramble around the room.

"Don't push yourself."

Levi's tone seemed to have gone back to normal. To show him that she was listening, she nodded her head.

"You should stay here with me, until the others get back. There is not much you can do out there while you are like this."

Staying was not something that she wanted to do. Everything she needed to know was out there. While her heart told her to stay with him, her mind said otherwise.

"I really want to say yes, but I cannot. I need to go and see what is going on. I have never been the type to just lay around and wait for things to be presented to me."

"Do you think I like being stuck on desk duty?"

"No, but someone has to babysit the Pastor."

Alise noticed that Hange and the others were already leaving. As she moved to walk past him, she felt Levi grab onto her hand.

"Levi?"

More than anything, Alise had been expecting him to say something to her. She was ready for him to nag her or belittle her in some way. What he did next took the air right out of her lungs. The feeling of his lips against her own made her legs want to give way. Had he really just kissed her or was she imagining things. When he broke the kiss, she instantly missed the connection. As she looked back towards the room, she noticed the others were long gone.

"That was a dirty move Levi. What did you do that for?"

"Are you complaining?"

Alise felt her cheeks turn red for a moment and then shook her head.

"No, I just wanted to know what caused you to do that."

"If I explained it to you now, then you would blame me for you missing out on something important. We can talk more when you get back."

"Or we can talk now. At least tell me something."

"I am not scared."

"Truly a worthy answer. Really makes me want to know more."

"Tch."

Alise moved away from him and the look she gave him said that she would be back. She needed to know what caused this change in him. He had said so many things against caring for someone and she was certain something like this would never happen. As she rode to catch up with the others, her fingers moved towards her lips. Levi had a rather cold personality, but she had to admit that he had the softest lips.


	17. Chapter 17

If she had to listen to Zeke's voice just one more time she felt as if she was going to rip her ears off. His voice in that form was highly unbearable and his rotten breath pushed her over the edge. While some would feel honored, she was never going to feel that way. The more she sat there, the angrier she became. This was indeed a punishment. With her abilities, she should have been in charge. If anyone else was here, they would share the same power as Zeke. There would be no room for him to talk down to them. He would have to respect their ideas and nothing more. She was certain that others loved and respected her, and maybe this was just a humbling experience. What was the point of being humble when she was better than so many others.

"I cannot take it anymore. I will be back before the sunrises."

"If you do anything to jeopardize this mission, I will kill you."

"Zeekie, I hear you. To be honest I don't really care what you have to say. As you nicely stated before, I have to answer to someone when I get back. They are the only reason that I am going to play along with this dumb game. If you don't mind, I am going to take my leave. Try not to have too much fun without me."

Zilla landed on the ground beneath him and quickly made her way into the trees. The mammoth had a show to watch. While she was all for torturing people and hearing them scream, the shows were not as fun when she was perched on his shoulder. She could never sit as comfortably as she wanted. There was always a fear that something would crawl onto her. Before the sun rose, she was going to make sure that she cleansed her body. When she got home, she would burn all of these clothing. No amount of cleaning supplies would ever make them pure again.

From the cover of the trees, she was able to see everything that was going on. The siege of the castle was poetic in its own way. With the number of Titans around, she was certain that everyone was going to die. To ensure that she saw everything, Zilla pulled out a pair of goggles. A good friend had altered them to ensure that she saw what she wanted just by rotating a dial on the side of them. The night function on them was acceptable, but it needed a bit more work. For tonight, her goggles gave her the insight that she needed.

The performance was beautiful at the start. A few people had died in an interesting fashion, it was just a shame that she could not hear anything. She bet that they were saying some rather interesting stuff. A bit of her wondered if anyone was making a good confession. Just thinking about it caused her to bite down onto her lip. The blood that formed only made her smile. Her smile quickly faded when she noticed a Titan had appeared. It was not like the others and it was clear that someone was inside calling all of the shots.

"No! No! No!"

Zilla stood up and slammed her fist into the side of the tree. This was not supposed to happen. It was supposed to be a show of carnage and misfortune. Now this show was turning into something good, something that she did not want to stomach. For the sake of keeping the peace, Zilla stayed up in the tree. When the Titans seemed to have gotten the upper hand again, some more people arrived, and they were using that fascinating contraption.

"I could kill them all, but she would be so mad at me. Follow orders or have fun. Why must they be kept apart?"

Zilla banged her head against the tree but stopped when something caught her attention. Her head turned towards the direction of a lone female that was riding towards the others. A rather wicked smile crept over her features.

"I can have fun. I just won't be seen."

Alise urged her horse to move faster. She could see in the distance that a tower had fallen down. All she could do was hope that no one else was killed. Hange and the others had gone in this direction. While moving at night should have been a good thing, it was clear that something was off.

To ensure that she was not caught off guard, Alise had cut through the forest. It was better than sticking out in the open. All around her she could feel the Titans. Under the trees, she felt less like she would be picked off. While Titans did not move as much as they did in the morning, they were still a threat. The only thing Alise had going for her was the fact that she was not using any light. The light radiating ahead of her was the only thing she focused on.

The sound of a rattling leaves caused her to look up. Before she could move to grab her weapon, Alise found herself being knocked off of her horse. Instantly her body tensed up and she forced herself to try and stand up.

"One less pathetic creature to join the others. I promise, I will make your death as unbearable as possible."

Alise fumbled to grab her sword and when she went to swing, she cut through nothing. Around her, she could hear her attacker laughing at her.

"Who the hell are you?"

"I would appreciate if you screamed the name Zilla. It is highly unlikely that you will though."

Alise felt something slash into her back and decided to use her ODM gear to get her off of the ground. As she hung on the side of a tree, she tried looking into the dark for the figure. The blood running down her back was pushed out of her mind.

"That is how you all use it. It is rather fascinating, but it won't save you."

Alise launched herself away from the tree before her attacker could hit her again. Whoever this woman was, one thing was for sure, the woman was clearly crazy. Zilla was a name that she had never heard before. The fact that she didn't know about her ODM gear said a lot. Now was not the time to process what was going on. She had to get the upper hand in this fight, and she had to do so quickly.

Whenever she felt as if Zilla had gotten too close, Alise would quickly move to latch onto another tree. She was in the middle of moving once again, when she heard something slice into her tank. Her hook had managed to latch onto a tree but moving around was about to be difficult.

"It seems that I have plucked the fly's wings. Why don't you come down here so that I can truly have some fun. Unless of course you want me to remove your limbs. I find your blood to be rather fascinating."

Alise did not bother to reply to Zilla. Her mind was racing and in the distance she noticed the lights were starting to move. Zilla was fierce and the last thing she wanted was for anyone else to get hurt. She had to keep Zilla preoccupied until the others passed by. Maybe when the others were away, she would be able to make a run for it.

"If you want to cut my limbs off, you are going to have to work for it."

"I like it when you all talk about."

Despite the eerie feeling that ran through her body, Alise closed her eyes and forced herself to focus. In the past she had trained with Xevera in the dark. During that training Xevera had taught her how to fight without using her eyes. It was important to use her senses and nothing more. This was something that Xevera truly excelled in. When Alise's feet dropped to the ground, her doubt washed away.

Only when Zilla got close was Alise truly able to sense her. She managed to block a few of Zilla's attacks, but it was truly difficult. It was clear that Zilla excelled in a combat that she was unfamiliar with. When she had tried to strike Zilla, the woman would move out of reach. Alise was not willing to accept defeat. As their blades collided once more, Alise tried pushing Zilla back, only to feel something slice into her side.

"Oops. I seem to have drawn more blood."

Zilla started to laugh and pushed back away from Alise. Her eyes grew with excitement when she noticed that the lights were coming towards them. More would be passing this way and then she could do what the Titans never did. She could kill them all and fill the air with their sweet screams. She had to wrap up her little session with her newly acquired toy.

Zilla used her whip to latch onto Alise's leg. With a flick of her wrist she watched with amusement as Alise fell to the ground. Before Alise could get back onto her feet, Zilla pounced on top of her. Her bladed claws rested against Alise's juggler.

"Will you scream for them to come to your aid?"

"I won't give you the satisfaction."

"Well then I will just use your horse to slaughter them all. Every last one of them will die."

Alise bucked her hips to knock Zilla off of her. She made sure to roll out of the way when Zilla tried to strike her again. She had noticed that most of the lights had rode past them, but one was moving towards her.

"Come join us oh wayward soul."

Zilla ran her tongue over her blade and pushed forward. Just as she was about to pounce on her target, Alise grabbed onto her leg and pulled her down to the ground. The familiar energy had returned once more and she was not going to let Zilla advance any further.

"We are not done."

Alise flung Zilla body into a nearby tree. From the light emitting from the torch, she noticed Zilla had turned in time to avoid hitting the tree. As Zilla skid across the ground, Alise noticed that her movement resembled that of a feline.

"Alise are you okay?"

Hange's voice sounded concerned and Alise noticed that she was reaching for her blade.

"Don't! Stay where you are for both our sakes."

Zilla pushed herself up slowly and pushed her cloak off of her body.

"That was a foolish thing to do. You should have run."

Alise brought her blade up in time to block Zilla's claws. When Zilla moved to strike again, Alise made sure to move back. Their fight pushed them into the darkness, but Alise did not need Hange's light to continue fighting. She could feel Zilla in a way that she could not explain. When Zilla tried to attack again, Alise used enough force to shatter a few of the claws off of Zilla's weapon.

"Impossible."

Zilla looked over her weapon and then glared at Alise. There was no one around to fix it and now Alise was going to have to pay. Despite the rage that she felt, she was unable to get Alise back on the ground. In an attempt to catch Alise off guard, Zilla jumped into a tree and watched.

Alise had noticed that Zilla had moved upwards and hated that her gear was broken. When she thought she had spotted Zilla, nothing would be there. Just as she was about to move, Zilla came lunging out of the tree. Instead of dodging, Alise grabbed Zilla by the throat and slammed her into a tree. The impact left a large hole in the tree, but Zilla did not scream. Instead the two locked eyes and Alise noticed that something in Zilla's eyes had changed.

The look that Zilla gave her did not matter. Alise had gone to run her blade into Zilla only to stop when she felt Zilla's claws go across her face. The sudden attack forced Alise to back away and grab her face. While she was stunned Zilla disappeared into the darkness.

"Alise!"

Alise dropped down to the ground and held onto her face. Her face was in a lot of pain and she did not want to think about the damage that had been done. When Hange grabbed onto her hand, she was forced to remove her hand.

"Oh my!"

The look of excitement growing in Hange's face told her that something was not right.

"How bad is it?"

"The blades did not penetrate your skin. There is not even a sign of welting. Your eyes are a different color."

Alise tried to move away, but the grip that Hange had on her made it hard to move.

"There is a sapphire hue around each of your pupils. The blood on your clothing looks as if it is not spreading."

The wounds that Zilla had caused her was something she had forgotten about. In the midst of everything, she figured her adrenaline had kicked in and caused her to fight through the pain. From the way Hange was touching her, she needed to get back and see for herself.

"Hange it is dangerous out here. We need to get moving before things get a lot worse."

Alise whistled for her horse and was glad to see that it had returned to her. As she mounted her horse, she noticed that Hange had picked something up off of the ground. Whatever it was did not matter to Alise, they needed to get out of her. Once they started to move, Alise noticed that Hange was moving towards the Wall.

"Where are you going?"

"I am going to meet up with the others. Will you come with me? We can discuss things more when we get to the top of the Wall."

"I am going to head back; my body is at its limit."

"Are you sure?"

"There will be plenty of other times for us to talk."

Alise offered Hange a quick smile and turned towards the path that would take her back to where Levi and Nick where. As she rode into the light of the district, she thought about the look in Zilla's eyes. For the first time, she saw that the woman could see fear. Zilla had the upper hand after her surprise attack and did not have to retreat. From the way she moved, she doubted Hange was the reason for her to retreat.

Thoughts of Zilla were put on hold when she moved back into the room and noticed the look on Levi's face.

"Before you say anything, it was not caused by a Titan."

"It looks like you ran into a wild animal."

"A wild animal is not that messed up in the head."

"Are you okay?"

"There is nothing to worry about. I just need to change."

While she wanted to talk to Levi, now was not the time. It was nice to hear him voice some kind of concern, but she needed to be alone. She made her way up to an empty room and began stripping. The wrapping that kept her chest hidden had been sliced into. As she turned to look at her wounds, she noticed that the bleeding had stopped. The wounds looked like minor cuts and were nothing like the damage done to her shirt. From the cuts on her shirt, she should have been soaked in blood.

Alise allowed her hand to fall away and moved to grab a shirt out of a nearby bag. It was snug compared to what she was used to. For the most part, she blamed the snugness for the lack of being able to flatten her chest. What she saw in the mirror was something that she was not used to. Whenever she was in uniform, she tried to make her body look like a boy. What stared back at her was a body of a woman. Doing anything about it now was pointless. With the final button in place, Alise moved back downstairs.

Levi had taken up sitting at the table with a cup of tea. She had thought that Nick would be around, but he was nowhere to be seen. She doubted the coward would try to make a run for it. When Levi looked up at her, Alise almost turned and went back to her room. The thought of what happened between them earlier caused her to keep walking.

"Alright coward, what was the point of kissing me. Were you trying to distract me?"

Alise did not want him to ask her about her minor wounds. When he took a sip of his tea she wondered if he had heard her. The look he gave her said that he heard what she said, but he still was not talking. This time the silence between them was unbearable. She had almost said something else, but he opened his mouth.

"I was making sure that I felt a certain way."

"Forgive me but I don't understand. When I told you how I felt, you blew off my feelings. You said you don't like commitment and are not the type that dates."

"Stop. Those are your words. What I said was that I didn't know what I wanted. More importantly it was not right to talk about such feelings."

"What makes this any difference?"

"I don't have to worry about you dying."

"Worry?"

"I knew where you were assigned to go. The odds of you living were not high and I was not going to open up to someone that was going to die."

"He sent me to die."

"No, he sent you to act like a captain, like everyone else in the Corps."

Alise would never understand the thoughts that ran through Erwin's brain. The fact that she had lived made her feel that Erwin had other things in store for her. With Hange's discoveries, there was no telling what he would do to her.

"Let's say that I believe you didn't want to open up because of that mission. What about my confession made you notice me?"

"Alise I have always noticed you. I saw you within the first month of me joining. I saw the way you looked at me and I saw the way you pushed yourself in training. You refused to lay down even when the challenges were bigger than you. You had traits that I admired and you looked cute when you tried to be comforting. Your nervous side exposed something that I had never seen before. By then I didn't feel right pursuing anything, so I just stood back and observed. When you were hurt, I justified my actions and my reasons for not being there for you."

"If we are being honest with each other then I will admit that I am glad you stayed away. I had promised Sabrina that I would talk to you when we got back. After what happened, I could not bare to look at you. I felt like a failure and I felt like you deserved better. Despite what I said, I liked interacting with you even if it did result in us bickering. It felt nice to hear your voice."

"I figured that out a long time ago. Your need to impress me only confirmed that I was right."

"You really made it sound like you hated me. You were really harsh."

"I hated what you were becoming, but I never really hated you."

"Amazing how much we can accomplish just by talking to each other."

Alise moved her chair closer to his, but did not bother to reach out and touch him.

"I must have really scared you during the expedition."

"That and many other things. Since I had not said anything, I was willing to live with my own regret."

"To be honest, you still have not said anything."

Alise spoke in a rather sheepish voice. When she looked up at his face, she noticed that there was some life in his normal cold gaze.

"I like that you don't follow me around like a lost puppy dog. I like that you have a spark that no one can put out. I like that you are different from the others."

Alise could feel her heart racing when he spoke. When he stopped, she found herself being unable to say anything for a moment.

"Levi, what does this mean. You are not scared to confess how you feel, and yet, you have not made any advances to ask me…"

"You want to belong to me?"

His sudden comment caught her completely off guard. She wanted to say yes and yet it bothered her to say such a thing. After everything that she had been through, she wondered if she deserved someone like him. Could she really be the one that made him smile or would there be another.

"I want to face my fears with you. I want to try pursuing something that should be avoided, especially with the life we live. More importantly I don't want either of us to regret anything. I don't want this to be done because you are grieving the loss of your squad or feel sorry for me. Xevera's death hurt me, but I will be okay."

"Tch."

"What did I say now? I am being honest with you."

"You are going to be a pain."

Levi's tone was not cold and she could tell that he was not annoyed. As she looked at him, Alise feared that if she moved this fantasy would shatter. Had Levi actually been watching her this entire time. He had given her hell because he was helping her in his own way. During their last expedition, he was actually worried about her wellbeing.

While she cared about him, she never thought about if he was okay. He was the strongest person that she knew, and she never pictured him dying. It was naïve thoughts, but his record backed up her thinking. To know that he actually had worried about her caused her to smile.

"What the hell are you smiling about now?"

"You actually cared when you didn't want to."

Alise tilted her head and smiled at him. Looking into his eyes felt different than before. She did not want to look away from him. More than anything she wanted to stare into his eyes until she fell asleep. Instead of staying away from him, Alise got up and straddled his lap. The slight look of discomfort on his face caused her to start getting up. When she tried to move, Levi pulled her back down.

"What happened to your leg?"

"I injured it, but it is healing."

"Am I making it worse?"

"No."

"Good."

Alise leaned in slowly and allowed her lips to press against his own. Her heart began to race once more. When his hands moved along her back, Alise allowed her hands to drape over his shoulder. The feeling of his tongue against her bottom lip was all he needed to get her to open her mouth.

Levi tasted like black tea, but it was better than any cup that she ever had. The longer he kissed her, the more of his natural taste came through. It was a taste that she never wanted to forget. While she wanted to dominate him, he was not going to have it. All the time that she had spent with him should have told her that it was not going to happen. When they finally broke the kiss, Alise allowed her head to rest against his shoulder. In his arms she finally felt secure. It was a feeling she had long forgotten and now she was glad to feel it again. Without her having to say anything, Alise felt Levi's arm wrap around her. His touch caused her body to tense lightly and then she eased into his arms.

If this was all a dream, then she never wanted to wake up. This was what she wanted more than anything. While she felt good, she knew that her happiness would be challenged. It would come in the form of Titans and people like Zilla. None of them would ever take anyone else from her. She was going to protect everyone, including the strongest person that she knew. While she thought, she allowed her eyes to close as the comforting feeling took over.


	18. Chapter 18

It had been such a long time since she was allowed this kind of sleep. Her body was not entirely comfortable, but the warmth made her not want to move. It was not until she nuzzled closer that she realized she was listening to a heartbeat. The sound did not cause her to open her eyes right away. With each beat her brain began to process that she was sleeping on someone. As her eyes fluttered open and the scent filled her nose, she began to sit up.

For a moment she thought that she had been dreaming about everything that transpired between Levi and her. She was certain that she would wake up in the infirmary once more. When she looked into Levi's eyes, she realized that it had not been a dream. Her eyes traveled down his shirt and towards a minor stain that was on his shirt.

"I didn't drool, did I?"

"Don't say anything."

Alise had to stop herself from smiling, especially when she saw the disgusted look on his face.

"You cannot be that mad. It is just a little drool. Nothing that won't dry up with time."

"Nice to hear that your germs are forever embedded on my clothing."

"You were not complaining earlier."

"That was completely different."

"If it bothers you so much, why don't you freshen up or something."

When Levi started to move, Alise got off of his lap. She watched as he made his way up the stairs and began to move behind him.

"Have fun in the bathtub. I am going back to sleep."

"You need to wash up as well."

Alise sniffed the clothing that she had on. She did not smell and she was sure others smelled a lot worse. In an attempt to avoid arguing, Alise nodded her head. The thought of following him into the bathroom had crossed her mind, but she stopped herself. They had just taken a step forward, there was no point in rushing anything else.

As she waited for Levi to leave out of the bathroom, Alise laid across her bed and stared at the ceiling. Her feelings ran rampant through her mind. More than anything she wanted to share her feelings with someone. When she looked into the darkness she realized that there was no one there to share her feelings with. Sabrina and Xevera would have been proud to hear that something had actually happened between her and Levi. They would never know and it annoyed her. When a hot tear fell down her face, she remembered that she still had Tanith. Tanith was sure to get excited over such news.

The sudden opening of the door caused Alise to roll away. The last thing she needed was to be seen crying.

"Pipsqueak go wash up."

"Such a demanding runt."

Just as she turned in her bed, she noticed Levi was only covered by a towel. A blush had dared to cross her face. Before it could happen, Alise moved quickly by him and into the bathroom. She kicked the door close behind her and got into the tub. The water was still warm and it helped ease some of her aches and pains. What stood out to her was the fading marks on her body. Why her body was healing now was beyond her knowledge. From what Hange had said, she was certain that she could only heal when she was asleep. She was still learning her body and Hange was not right about everything.

Once she was done in the tub, Alise made her way back into her room. Since she had not expected to go anywhere, she had not packed anything. The clothing in this room belonged to someone else and she would have to repay them later on. For now, she would use their sleeping gown to keep herself covered.

The upstairs was quiet, and she had noticed that the only light came from downstairs. She had no idea how long Levi stayed awake, but she was growing tired. Tomorrow she was going to do some personal test on herself. For the time being, she just wanted to get a good night's rest. No matter how she laid, she could not get into a good position. After a while of tossing and turning, Alise sat up and made her way downstairs.

"We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. Do you want to get some sleep? This time I promise I won't drool on you."

Alise watched as Levi looked up from his books. She could tell he was taking in her form and did her best not to cover her chest.

"I am not tired."

"You look tired. Besides, when was the last time you got some good rest."

"I already had my three hours of sleep. I will be fine."

Alise moved closer to him and allowed herself to look over some of the things he had gotten his hands on. The information looked like something Nick would read. While she was sure it would be helpful, Alise did not want to think about the Wall or any Titans.

Levi's sudden movement caused Alise to look up from the article that she was not even reading. The motion with his hand caused her to follow after him.

"I thought you were not tired."

"Once you are sleep I will be able to focus more."

She had not even bothered him since she picked an article to half look at. If this was his way of getting her to rest, then she was all for it. When they reached her room, Alise snuggled into his body. It was clear from the way he moved that he was not used to someone being this close to him. He had not bothered to push her off and allowed her to get as close as she wanted. When she was comfortable, Alise allowed her fingers to travel along his arm.

"Are you going to keep touching me or will you try going to sleep?"

"If you don't like me touching you then I won't."

"I am just not used to it."

Being this close to someone of the opposite gender was not something she was used to either. She was used to being close to females because of her sister, Sabrina, and Tanith. Personal space was not something she truly had until her sister was placed in charge of her own squad. The first night she got to sleep in her own bed, Alise found herself wishing that Xevera would curl up close to her. She never dared to say such feelings out loud.

"Levi, if I promise to be open with you, will you be open with me."

"I have been open with you. What is wrong now?"

"I can tell you have different sleeping habits, but some nights would mind holding me until I fall asleep."

"If it means I can focus on doing my work, then sure."

"Don't make it sound like some task. I am not going to interrupt your work. I didn't even say anything tonight. I was content with just sitting there with you."

"When you dress like that, it is rather hard to focus."

A devious smirk came to Alise's face and she moved to mount Levi.

"Are you telling me that this little outfit is bothering you. It is not like you can see through the fabric or anything."

"You are playing a dangerous game."

"What game would that be?"

Alise moved her hips against him in a rather teasing like way. When she stopped moving, she felt something hard pressing against her. As realization sunk in, Alise could feel her cheeks turning slightly red.

"Get off."

Her eyes traveled down to meet Levi's gaze. His tone held something inside of it that she thought she would never hear. There was a sense of desire trying to take hold and yet he was pushing it off. With her experience, she should have done what he asked. She had only done minor things with men in the past. None of those men meant anything to her. As she looked at Levi, she realized that this had been long overdue.

Alise leaned down and allowed her tongue to travel over his neck slowly. When she reached his ear, she nibbled on it softly and then allowed her tongue to flicker over it lightly.

"I don't think so."

Alise spoke in a rather seductive tone as she teased him. Levi had not moved to push her off and Alise took it as a sign to keep going. Her lips traveled to his neck and she began to kiss and suck on his neck. When her tongue traveled against his flesh, she heard a rather enticing sound. Levi's moan was not like anything she had heard before. It had been so brief and it made her want to hear more from him. Kissing and sucking on his neck was not going to get her the results she desired. In an attempt to keep him submissive, Alise moved towards his mouth. The moment their lips touched, Alise allowed her mouth to open for him. His sweet taste greeted her taste buds once more.

While their tongues danced in a battle of dominance, Alise allowed her hands to work open his top. With his top out of the way, she pulled back to take in his body. It was just as good as she remembered. The way the water danced on his skin earlier made him look rather desirable. Under the moonlight, he looked just as good. As she ran her hands up his figure, she felt like she was touching some forbidden fruit.

Her hands traveled lower, and she allowed it to pass over his bulge. Her mind told her to expose him fully, but she resisted doing such a thing. In an attempt to keep him on the edge, Alise kissed his bulge and smiled up towards him. The look he gave her told her that he was not happy with being teased. If he thought that she was going to be completely submissive, then he had another thing coming. To show him that she was not entirely a tease, Alise began to work him free of his pants. What the moon illuminated on caused her mouth to water slightly. He was not at his fullest, and with her help, Alise was sure she could get him there. Before she touched him, Alise took in his length and width. Levi was living up to his nickname and she was certain that by the end of tonight, she was going to be feeling things well into the morning.

"Alise."

The look that Levi gave her caused Alise to realize that her actions caused some doubt to form in his mind.

"I am just taking you in. I am not going to run from this."

Alise allowed her hand to wrap around his manhood. Her fingers could not close completely and she smirked at this discovery. One good pump was all she needed to ease Levi's doubts. As her hand came up to his tip, Alise allowed her hand to twist in a circular motion. She made sure to do the motion once more as her hand traveled down to his base. Only when Levi was fully erect did she dare to bring her mouth close to him.

Her hand moved back down towards his base and in the process she allowed her tongue to travel over his tip. Her tongue circled him once and she smiled at the sound he made. When her hair fell in the way, Alise pulled her head back and pushed some of it out of her face. She was about to ask Levi to grab her hair, when she felt his hands moving into hair. It was good to know that some things did not have to be verbalized. With her hair out of the way, Alise resumed what she was doing.

After a few more passes with her hand, Alise allowed her mouth to open and eased him into her mouth. Her hand continued to move while her tongue traveled over him. She made sure to taste every inch of him. When she was satisfied with one area, she would ease him deeper into her mouth. To ensure that he did not grow bored, Alise allowed her grip to tighten slightly. She pulled him out of her mouth to catch her breath but did not stop her hand from moving. The taste that had greeted her taste buds made her want to go back right away. Even though she wanted to continue running her tongue over his rod, she noticed she had neglected an important part of his body.

Alise ran her tongue against the underside of his shaft until she reached his balls. She pulled one into her mouth and began to suck on it slowly. To ensure that no part of him was neglected, Alise made sure to alternate between each one. Only when she was sure she had done a good job; did she allow herself to look back at her desired treat. Alise's tongue wrapped around him and she began to work him slowly into her mouth. This time, she did not allow herself to stop at the midway point. Instead she continued covering him with her saliva to ensure that she could take him fully into her mouth.

On her first attempt, she had to pull back because he caused her to gag. When she settled her body down, Alise resumed taking him in. The feeling of Levi in her throat took a moment to adjust to. As her head began to move, she encouraged him to start moving his hips. There were times when she had to pause, but Alise refused to pull him out. To keep him on edge, Alise pulled her head back slightly and allowed her tongue to run over him once more. While her mouth worked, her hands began to tease his balls.

Levi's grip had changed, and she could feel his fingers in her hair. She did not resist him when he pushed her head lower onto him. He had done so in a rather slow fashion and she was grateful for it. When she was certain she was not going to choke, she began to pick up speed. Alise alternated between using her mouth and her hand.

"Alise, I am close."

If Levi thought that she was going to allow him to pull out of her mouth, he was dead wrong. She had worked hard for this treat and she was not going to allow him to waste it. To make sure he understood, Alise locked her lips around him. As his essence coated her tongue, Alise made sure to stay put until he was done. He tasted better than she could have ever imagined. Once her mouth was cleared, Alise licked off the remaining bits that she had left behind.

She had just finished cleaning the last bits off of him when she found herself being tossed onto her back. The look in Levi's eyes caused her to bite her lower lip. What she had not expected was for Levi to actually kiss her. With the way he acted, she thought that he would hate something like that. Pushing him away was out of the question and she pulled him close to her body. The feeling of his lips against her neck caused a low moan to escape. While his mouth worked against her flesh, she could feel his hand moving under her shirt. The touch of hands against her nipple caused her to gasp in their kiss. His hands were not soft, but they were not too hard either. When he pulled on her nipples, Alise could not hold in another moan.

The break for air was much needed. Alise did not get to relax for long when Levi began to pull her gown over her head. Her hands had gone to cover her lower regions, but Levi quickly pinned her hands above her head.

"No sense in being shy now."

"To be honest, I have not gone this far with someone before."

The shocked look on Levi's face caused her to worry slightly. When he moved in close to her ear, Alise bit her lip at his words.

"Then it is mine. Now say it."

"It is yours Levi."

"Good girl."

The kiss against her ear sent a chill through her body. She knew how he could be in training, but this was going to be something else. No matter what he did to her, Alise doubted she would not like it. When his mouth began to travel down towards her chest, she could feel her heart racing.

Levi did not rush to the treasure that was buried between her legs. His eyes moved over her body as he took in what lay before him. The fact that she had been untouched by another only made him want her more. Her body belonged to him and he had no plans on sharing her. To ensure that she understood, Levi decided that he was going to take his time enjoying her. His hands gripped onto her breast as he squeezed them. They were soft in the right way. Just to see her reaction, Levi began to play with her nipple. He pulled on them and released them to watch her chest bounce. While one finger teased her nipple, he lowered his mouth and took her into his mouth.

The thought of being gentle had not entered his mind. He did make sure to watch her body language as he continued onward. He allowed her nipple to roll around his teeth and then he bit down and began to pull on it. The sound she made was enticing. The look in her eyes only encouraged him to keep going. His tongue traveled over her nipple before he moved to do the same thing to her other nipple. He had to admit that her skin tasted rather delicious. It caused him to wonder just how good the nectar was between her legs.

While his mouth alternated between each nipple, Levi's hand began to move lower. He allowed his fingers to travel over her thigh lightly. Her legs began to open slowly for him. To ensure that she stayed relaxed, Levi allowed his thumb to flick over her bundle. The sound that left Alise almost made him want to do it again. There was no point in rushing anything, she was sure to make more sounds for him in a matter of minutes. His fingers moved away from her bundle and he allowed his hands to travel against her inner thing. Every once in a while, his hand would go near her lips, but he would not allow it to go much further.

When his mouth moved away from her swollen nipples and towards her neck, he allowed his fingers to venture near her lower lips. His thumb stroked her bundle once more and he could feel her trembling underneath him. The look she had in her eyes was something he would never grow tired of. Just as his lips captured her own, Levi began to roll her bundle around in his fingers. Every once in a while, he would pinch and pull on it. When he was certain that she could not take it anymore, he allowed his fingers to slide inside of her entrance. The way she hugged his fingers was in a way that no one had ever done before.

His fingers began to pump inside of her and he made sure to curve them to rub against her hidden spot. Levi pulled away from kissing her to watch her facial expressions. It was hard to imagine that Alise could make such faces. When her hips started to move, Levi quickly stopped.

"You won't be pushed over the edge because of that."

He pulled his fingers out of her and looked at the juices that coated his finger. When he placed her nectar into his mouth, he felt his desire grow. She tasted better than the finest cup of black tea. It was a sweetness that he wanted more of. From the look on Alise's face, he could tell she wanted more.

"What is going through your mind, pipsqueak?"

Levi could not help but to mess with her. The look of anger in her eyes did nothing to him especially since he could see the lust shining over it.

"I was wondering how your tongue would feel."

Alise's forward remark caused him to smile. He had not thought she would be so direct, but that was just another trait he was going to appreciate.

"In time you will find out. For now, you are going to work on controlling yourself."

A puzzled look came to Alise's face and was quickly replaced when Levi slide his fingers back inside of her. He made sure to change up his pace. Seeing her getting worked up was something he could not resist doing. Whenever she got too close, Levi would pull his hand out and wait for her to calm down once more.

"Levi."

The way she cooed his name told him that she was growing desperate. This time he saw no point in prolonging her lesson. His lips traveled down the middle of her body and when he reached her bundle, he allowed his tongue to flick over it. His fingers continued to move inside of her while he sucked on her clit. After a while of teasing her, he replaced his fingers with his tongue.

Tasting her directly from the source was better than he thought. His tongue moved deep inside of her. When she tried to move away from him, Levi wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back down on his face. It was his name that she called, and he wanted her to never forget it. There was a lot of things that he wanted to do to her, but for now he was only going to give her so much. While his tongue moved inside of her, his fingers moved back to tease and play with her clit.

"Please don't stop."

A smile came to face when he heard her words. Stopping had not crossed his mind this time around. The feel of her fingers in his hair, only encouraged him to keep going. The way she gripped his hair turned him on even more. His assault on her body increased with time.

"I am not going to last much longer."

Normally he would have pulled his head back and finished with his fingers. Alise was not some random one-night stand. She was the woman that he dared to get close to. To encourage her to give him what he desired, Levi's pace increased. With a well timed tugged, he felt her juice flow over his tongue. He could feel her body trembling, but it did not cause him to stop. He only bothered to pull his mouth away when he was certain that he had cleaned his plate.

Alise did her best to catch her breath. Her orgasm had rocked her body in a way that she had never experienced before. Even when she played with herself, she had never experienced something like this. The look that Levi had on his face made her want him even more. Why had she waited so long to do something about her feelings? She was not going to think about the past, from now on she was going to focus on her future. Levi was a part of her future, like he should have been.

Her hands pulled him back up towards her and Alise welcomed the touch of his lips. Her taste on him was different and yet welcomed. She liked the way his body felt against her own. When he pulled back away from her, Alise felt her cheeks turning red. She knew what was coming next and she hoped that he would not be disappointed. The touch of his head near her entrance caused her body to tense up.

"Look at me Alise."

Slowly her eyes moved back to him. Her lips were swollen from all the kissing they had done, but she did not stop him. His lips provided her mind with the distraction that she truly needed. When he began to push inside of her, the feel of his hands against her chest, caused her to relax even more. No amount of distraction could prepare her for when he pushed in further. Alise pulled away from his kiss and did her best to catch her breath. This pain that she was feeling was not going to get in her way. Xevera had told her that after the first-time things got better. Her sister had no reason to lie to her, nor did the others that spoke about their flings.

"Just give it one good thrust."

"Are you sure?"

Alise nodded her head. She was scared to open her mouth since she knew her voice would give her away. When she felt Levi pull back for a fleeting second, she thought he would not advance. The feeling of him suddenly pushing further into her caused Alise to bite into his shoulder to muffle a scream. She was grateful that Levi did not move right away. When her body started to adjust, Alise nodded her head for him to keep going.

For a while all she could feel was pain. A bit of her wished she would have asked Xevera how many thrusts she would have to endure before she felt some pleasure. As he continued to work, Alise allowed his scent to wash over her. Her grip on him loosened when she could feel the pain being replaced by something else. The thought of grabbing onto the sheets had crossed her mind, but she refused to let him go.

Her nails dug into his back as he continued moving inside of her. Each thrust sent a wave of pleasure through her body. She found herself finally being able to truly enjoy the pleasure that Levi was giving her.

Before she knew it, Alise felt them moving and soon Levi was buried deep inside of her. There was some pain as she found herself stretching once more for him. Being on top of Levi allowed her to see him from a new angle. When he moved her hips, her moan was a mixture of pain and pleasure. He had slowed down once more and his pace only increased when he was certain that she would feel pleasure. When the pleasure kicked in once more, Alise allowed herself to bounce on him. Her hips would rock against him and she allowed them to go into a circular motion before she bounced on his shaft again.

As Alise rode him, Levi's hands moved up to grab her breast. He began to tease her nipple again and sat up to pull her nipple back into his mouth.

"Levi."

Alise moaned his name to encourage him to keep going. She did not want this pleasure to end and she could feel her orgasm building inside of her. Her legs wrapped around Levi's waist and she quickly flipped them so that he was on top of her again. When he tossed one of her legs over his shoulder, Alise moaned from the new feeling he created. Her other leg wrapped around his thigh to ensure that he dove deep inside of her. He was hitting her spot and she found herself having to clutch onto the bed sheets.

The thought of telling him that she was close had crossed her mind. She wanted more than anything to tell him, but all she could get out were moans. The sight of him thrusting inside of her caused her brain to grow fuzzy. After a few well-placed thrust, Alise's orgasm rocked her body again. Even though she was tired, she did not stop moving until she felt something hot rush inside her body. The feeling sent a wave of pleasure through her body. When Levi finally pulled out, all Alise could do was lay there.

She watched as he moved out of the room. For the moment she worried that he was not going to come back. The sound of running water told her otherwise. It was good to know that some things did not change.

"Let's go."

Alise thought about resisting, but something told her that it was not a good idea. She had just gotten out of bed when her legs gave way. The amused look on Levi's face caused her to glare at him.

"It is not funny. You could have at least allowed me to rest a while longer."

Her arms went up to Levi when he moved close to her. From this position her new favorite treat was in her face. It did not last long and soon she found herself in Levi's arms. Alise nuzzled against him once more and did not release him until they were both in the water. Her hands moved to grab a cloth and she was about to clean herself until she looked at him. Her cloth traveled over his body and she placed a kiss on his lips when her hand went underwater. While she wanted to have more fun, her body truly needed to relax. One of these days she was going to take advantage of this.

Once they were clean, Alise positioned herself so that she was resting on his lap. Her head fell back against him and a smile came to her face. She actually belonged to Levi. With that thought in mind, she knew that she was going to have to be careful going forward. Living on the edge and doing reckless things had to stop. While she was curious about her body, she had to think about him and the others.

Only when she felt tired did Alise bother to stand up. With Levi close behind her, Alise got back into bed and nuzzled closer to him. His scent was all she needed to fall asleep. The feeling of his arms around her was the added security blanket she would never grow tired of.


	19. Chapter 19

Multiple times Levi tried to leave the room so that he could look over some old reports that he had found. Each time that he tried to pull away he felt Alise move closer to him. Her body generated a lot of heat at one moment, but then it suddenly stopped. Her naked body allowed him to see the scars that her clothing had hid. By the time that the sun had started to come up the scars that he saw were gone. Her skin was flawless, and she looked like something that did not belong in this world. While he did enjoy the sight, he needed to move.

Once more he tried to slip away from her slowly, but she had a rather strong grip on him. With a matter of prying he was able to slip out of her grip and was grateful that she had grabbed onto a nearby pillow. Before he walked out of the room, he covered her exposed body with the sheets. As he moved to sit at the table, he thought about what Isabel had said when she caught him staring at Alise. Furlan was no better, but he was not as bad as Isabel. Just thinking about them caused his heart to ache lightly.

Even though it took him a while, he finally allowed himself to make a move. If she would have just kept her mouth closed, he was sure that he would have pushed her from his mind. All of their training and the way she looked in that dress, made things difficult on him. She tried to be tough and yet he saw the pain that she carried with her. When she was in the infirmary he told himself that he had to face his fears. She was a pain in his side and yet he enjoyed her presence. While she did not need some knight, he was going to ensure that nothing ever happened to her. Even if it meant protecting her from herself at times.

The articles and reports that he had thumbed through were not all that helpful. He needed to get back to his base in order to do further research. At any moment Nick would be returning, and he needed to get Alise up. If Nick was not back by a certain time, Levi had no problem with leaving him behind. He was replaceable and he was certain that other members of his church would talk.

It would have been nice if Alise was sitting up in bed waiting on him to return, but that was not the case. Alise had moved more onto his side of the bed and had her face buried in a pillow.

"Wake up, we need to get ready."

The mumbling sound that came from her caused his eyebrow to twitch. He had gone to shake her, only to have her hit him with a pillow. While her hit did not hurt, it still left him feeling slightly annoyed. He should have known that she would be a pain, even in her sleep.

"Get up!"

She was as stubborn as a child. He was amazed that she had even made it that far with her sister. Maybe her current sleeping habits were her sister's fault. If Alise had been in his squad, he was certain that she would have been sitting next to him in the morning, instead of nuzzling into a pillow. The stain that was growing told him that she had started to drool.

Levi let out an annoyed sigh and snatched the covers from off of her sleeping form. He watched as her body trembled from the cold air. The lack of warmth did nothing in getting her out of the bed. As he stood there, he realized that he was going to have to break this habit of her sleeping in. If she had been under him, he would have flipped her out of the bed. Alise was his girlfriend and he had a good way of dealing with her.

With ease he managed to flip Alise onto her back. His fingers traveled up her legs and he spread her open before him. Her scent was pleasing to his nose and he allowed his tongue to run against her lips. The light sound that escaped her caused him to smirk against her lips. The lack of movement told him that she was still sleeping. He doubted if he kept going that she would be sleeping much longer.

Levi parted her lips with his tongue and tasted the small bit of juice that dared to seep out. He hummed in approval and his tongue ran over her clit. Her clit was pulled into his mouth slowly and he began to suck on it lightly. Her moans had started to grow, but she was not stirring yet. A bit of him wondered if she was indeed wake and just did not want him to stop. If this was the game she wanted to play, then he was all for it.

As he rolled her clit around with his teeth, Levi allowed his index finger to slip inside of her. Its movement was slow at first, but with time he began to pick up the pace. A second finger slid inside, and he released her clit when he felt her hips move. Her walls clung to his fingers nicely and he allowed them to curve so that he could rub against her spot once more.

It was the sound of his name that caused him to look up at her. Her eyes were wide open and watching her grab her chest only fueled him to keep going. Levi allowed his free hand to travel up to her chest. He allowed his thumb to brush over her nipple, before he grabbed onto it.

The fact that Alise had tried to move her hips faster caused Levi to release her chest. His hand moved to her hips and he pinned her down. The look on her face only caused him to smirk down at her. His fingers pushed deeper inside of her and his free hand lowered to her abdomen. A little pressure was all he needed to apply and soon she was arching her back. He pulled his fingers from out of her and cleaned them off. His tongue cleaned the nectar off of her inner thighs and then he dove right in.

He let out a moan of approval and did not care when Alise grabbed onto his hair. His tongue continued exploring her depths. When he touched one of her walls, he moaned so that it felt as if his tongue was slightly vibrating. He could feel her thighs close around his head and it only encouraged him to keep going. His finger moved in circular motions around her clit to ensure that she was as close to the edge as possible. The way she called his name fueled his desire. When he sensed that her body was almost at its breaking point, Levi suddenly pulled back.

"What the hell!"

Levi ran his tongue over his lips and with a look of indifference he began to fix his hair. Alise outburst did not bother him.

"The next time I tell you to wake up, I bet that you will wake up."

When Alise's hand started to go lower, Levi grabbed her wrist and held them away from her desired goal.

"That is off limits to you. If I find out that you crossed into my territory, then there will be consequences for your actions."

Levi released her hands and pulled her into a kiss. The feeling of her lips against his own was something he was growing used to. In such a short time, he had already grown to like and yearn for such a feeling. When she tried to pull him closer, Levi slipped out of her grip. More than anything he wanted to bury himself deep inside of her, but he had to teach her a lesson.

"Get dressed."

Alise did not know how to feel in that moment. That bastard had actually gotten her all worked up and was not going to finish what he started. To know that he had claimed her own personal playgrounds for himself just added to her annoyance. This was her body and if she wanted to have fun, she had a right to do just that. Besides, she doubted he could make her feel worse than how she felt at this moment. If Alise knew the grave she was digging herself, she would have never gone further. She should have known that a predator does not always attack right away. The desire inside of her was hard to ignore and she was not going to submit to him that easily.

"Levi."

Once her back was pressed against the wall, Alise allowed her legs to spread open. The simple maneuver was all she needed to get his attention. With his eyes on her, Alise right hand gripped onto her breast. She could still feel Levi's hand gripping onto her. With his actions fresh in her mind, Alise allowed her left hand to travel lower, into the region that had dared to claim for his own. When she passed over her clit, she noticed the look he gave her. It was as if he was daring her to keep at it. His silent challenge was one that she was not going to back down from.

Her fingers slid inside of her warmth and she began to pump them at a slow and steady building pace. As her fingers moved inside of her, her right hand pinched and pulled on her nipple. It was nothing compared to the pressure that Levi applied. Just thinking about what he did caused her excitement to grow. Her hips began to move once more, and her fingers brushed over the spot that Levi had found with ease.

Through her haze she noticed the look in Levi's eyes had changed. He had not looked away from what she was doing. In an attempt to mess with him, Alise said his name once more. No matter what she did, Levi did not move from where he was standing. Her fingers and hips continued to move in sync with each other. Knowing that Levi was watching her helped push her close to the edge. While she enjoyed playing with her nipples, her fingers moved to her clit and she began to rub it lightly. Levi had not been gentle with her and she decided to mirror his actions. With the combined assault, Alise was finally pushed over the edge.

Her fingers rested inside of her for a moment as she tried to get her body to calm down. To further poke the bear, Alise brought her fingers up to her mouth. She had run her tongue over one of her fingers when suddenly Levi pulled her hand away. The warmth of his tongue on her fingers sent a chill through her body. Once her finger was cleaned off, Levi got up and took his leave.

"Alright Levi I am getting up."

It was clear from the look he had been giving her that he wanted her and yet he did not act. While she wanted more, she knew nothing would come of it. Alise looked around the room for her uniform pants. The shirt that she put back on was still snug, but in time she would be back at her base. When she got home, she was going to wrap her chest and put on her own clothes.

At the bottom of the stairs she noticed the look that Nick had on his face. There was a look of disgust in his eyes. What he felt meant nothing to her.

"If you keep looking like that, your face may get stuck."

"Your comments do not bother me."

Alise thought about saying something snarky back. Arguing with Nick was pointless. He was a coward and one day karma was going to come for him. When that day came, she doubted that she would even feel sorry for him.

"Let's go."

Levi's words caused Alise to move past Nick. She did not look at him during their ride back. Her mind was too distracted by what she was going to say to Tanith. On top of that she needed to speak with Erwin. The fate of her sister's squad had not been properly determined. While she was second in command and sure to be promoted, it did not mean anything. She had turned down opportunities in the past and Erwin could have had another person in mind. There was no way that she was going to allow Erwin to take that squad away from her.

The moment the wagon stopped, Nick made sure to be the first to move. Just as he got off, Levi opened his mouth.

"We will be speaking more with you later on."

The nervous look on Nick's face caused a smirk to come to Alise's face. While she wanted to stay close to Levi, she had to get moving as well. Her base was not far from here and she needed to change so that she could speak with Erwin.

"I will find you later on. I need to take care of some things."

Alise placed a gentle kiss against Levi's cheek and jumped off of the wagon. The pain that she felt from moving rapidly the other day had not entered her brain. As she ran towards her base, she felt no pain. It was as if her body had healed, but it was truly hard to tell. A few hours of training would help her see just how far she had come.

Getting into her own uniform did not take long. It was good to see that her squad had been out training. She knew that she could trust Vanessa and Maya when it came to running things. Before they turned in for the night, she was going to have to run over the officials plans for the squad. For the time being, she had to get to Commander Erwin and speak with him about everything.

Seeing the Military Brigade and Garrison walking out of Erwin's office caught Alise completely off guard. She was starting to worry that something had gone wrong, but Erwin was sitting at his desk. His office was intact and no one was outside guarding his door. It was becoming clear that things had gone well for him.

"Commander Erwin, I was wondering if I could speak with you?"

Even though his actions had pissed her off, Alise still held respect for him. At the end of the day, he was her commander and she would speak to him as such.

"What is wrong Alise?"

"I was wondering if we could talk about my sister's squad. Before I got my hopes up and listened to others, I wanted to know if I am truly in charge of Xevera's squad."

"I told Hange to inform you that you were. Is that going to be a problem?"

"No. Actually I am honored that you are allowing me to lead them."

"Alise, I have been trying to promote you. Each time you fought me."

"I fought you on a lot of things and to be honest I did it because I was being selfish. If you don't mind me asking, why did you divide our squad up. You could have had us all in the forest, but you chose to leave me and the rookies out in the opening. If I truly was someone you saw value in, then why did you do that."

"Pieces have to be moved in order for progress to be made. When a pawn reaches the other side of the board, they become something more."

"You didn't know I would come out alive. I may be a pawn in your eyes, but I am valuable."

Commander Erwin did not show any emotions as he moved towards Alise.

"Every piece on the board is expendable. The end goal is what matters most. We doing things for the good of humanity. No one's life is worth more than anyone else. I had you lead them because I knew I could trust you. It was never personal and I hope you possess the wisdom to see that."

"I understand what you are saying. I am aware that despite what you say, you are not expendable."

"I am and I don't expect to be shown favoritism when I am out on the field. If I have to die to ensure that humanity takes a step forward, then so be it."

Alise had searched his face for some sign. No commander should ever say or think something like that. He was their commander and he had a right to use them to protect himself. When she looked into his eyes, it became clear that he was not lying. He was nothing like their former commander. She could see why her sister was ever loyal to him. She might hate some of things that he did, but she respected what he stood for.

"As your captain I promise that I will give my all to us reaching the basement of Eren's home."

A smile came to her face and she was about to take her leave when Erwin reached out and grabbed onto her shoulder.

"As my captain, I must request that when the time comes you lend me your squad."

"You are our commander…"

"Just your squad."

"What about me?"

"You are on desk duty until the doctors give you clearance."

For a moment Alise could not think of anything to say. Had he truly placed her on desk duty. If they were all expendable then why did it matter.

"Commander, I assure you that I am fine. I can go out with the rest of you."

"This is not up for debate."

Alise clinched her fist out of frustration and glared at Erwin. He had granted her permission to lead her sister's squad and yet he was not allowing her to act as captain. What was the point of making her captain if she could not lead. Arguing with Erwin was pointless. If she was going to join him, she had to get a note from one of the doctors.

"I won't stand in the way of us reaching the basement. My squad is yours to command. I am sure a lot of them will feel honored to be placed under you directly."

"Thank you. Have them ready to go by nightfall."

A forced smile came to her face and Alise turned to take her leave. As her hand moved to grab the door knob, the door was suddenly pulled opened. Tanith stood in front of Alise with a nervous look on her face. Since this was Erwin's office, Alise should have known that Tanith would show up here.

"Commander Erwin, is it true that you have requested the help of the Garrison?"

"I will accept anyone that is willing to help."

"Allow me to join you. I am not scared to go beyond the Walls, and I want to play a role in the advancement of humanity. I am not scared to face any Titan and I will kill any that get in my way."

A look of horror came across Alise's face when she heard what Tanith had said. Did she really just say what she said? Tanith was safe behind the Walls, there was no way she would want to go beyond them.

"Commander Erwin, she is part of the Garrison. She cannot go out there."

Alise did not care if her words hurt Tanith. Tanith was supposed to stay here and live out the rest of her life safe and far from the Titans.

"Alise I can go wherever I want. I am not asking for your permission, I am asking Commander Erwin."

Alise looked towards Erwin and silently pleaded with him. He could not allow Tanith to go out there, not when she was not there to protect her.

"You will have to make the request with your Captain…"

Alise refused to listen to anything else that Erwin had to say. He had said that people were expendable and she thought he was talking about the Survey Corps. This board that he played on involved more than just the Corps. For him to encourage Tanith's request caused her blood to boil. If he wanted a doctor's note then she was going to get it.

Just as she reached the doctor's office, she heard Tanith calling out to her.

"What do you want now Tanith? You have already decided to go out there when you know you are not fit to be out there."

"I am capable of going out there."

"No you are not. You know the reason we made you bait was because you sucked. You were not fast like us and you would have died if we did not have your back. You needed us to stay alive. If you have not heard, I am on desk duty. You cannot go out there without me."

Alise did not mean to be hurtful, but she had to get Tanith to see that her thoughts were foolish.

"I have always known that I was beneath you all. Alise, we are not in training and I am not that foolish girl that you all took in. It is not safe here and you and I both know it. I am not going to stay here any longer. If I can help, then I am going to do just that."

"Tanith you are not listening to me."

"No Alise, you are not listening to me. I don't need you to protect me anymore. All my life I had to look up to the two of you. I was never strong like you all and I could never catch up no matter how hard I tried. It is time that I stepped out of your shadow. I need to do this for myself."

"Tanith you are all I got left. If I can just find a doctor, I know that things will be okay. Just give me time and I will be able to explain a lot of things to you."

A hot tear rolled down Alise's face and Tanith moved to rub it away.

"You are all I have as well. I cannot keep living like a coward. Sabrina died being a hero. If I were to die, I doubt she would be proud of the life I lived."

"Please just wait. I know you want to add some value, but you must wait. Commander Erwin is not going to protect you out there. He does not care about your life."

"I don't need him to care. I am doing this for myself and I just want you to say you support my decision, just like how I supported the two of you when you all left me behind."

Alise wrapped her arms around Tanith and pulled her friend close to her body.

"If you don't come back, I will kill him. I don't care if he is my commander."

Tanith pulled back and rubbed the remaining tears off of Alise's face. A smile came to Tanith's face as she looked over Alise.

"I will do everything that I can to come back. When I get back we can talk about why you were so close to Levi. Remember I see everything from up above."

Tanith patted the top of Alise's nose which caused Alise to chuckle. When Tanith removed the bracelet that was on wrist a painful feeling grew in her chest.

"To show you that I am serious about coming back, I want you to keep this. The last thing I want is for this to come off when I am out there."

Alise took the bracelet from Tanith. It had been a while since she touched it. The last time she had it in her hand, she had just removed it from Sabrina's corpse. This bracelet held a lot of meaning.

"I will see you again."

Alise placed the bracelet onto her wrist and watched as Tanith moved back towards her own base. The thought of heading to the infirmary lingered in her mind. Even if she did manage to get a doctor's note, she was certain that Tanith would hate her. Tanith wanted to spread her wings and fly. Alise could not get in her friend's way. She just hoped that Tanith would return to her. With each step that she took towards her own base, she hoped that she was making the right decision.

As her base grew closer, Alise forced herself to focus on the task at hand. She had a few hours to prepare her squad for a journey she would not be on. All she could do was hope that most of them would return.

"Gather around, I have an important announcement!"

The faces of her squad was something that should have made Alise smile. Smiling was the last thing that she wanted to do.

"Commander Erwin has placed me in charge of this squad. The first thing I want to do is promote Vanessa to being my second in command. Maya you are on your way, but there is still some things I want you to learn."

Maya did not seem crushed and quickly patted Vanessa on her back.

"This just means that you and I are going to be fighting it out for your position."

"My arm may not be completely healed, but I can still take you on."

Vanessa's arm had healed enough for her to be able to wield her blade. Vanessa had to keep it wrapped to ensure that nothing went wrong. Alise wished that Vanessa would have never been cleared by the doctors, but that was out of her hands. The doctors knew what was best for everyone, just like Erwin.

"With that being said, I have some bad news. I have not been cleared by the doctors to go on the next assignment with you all. I am sure you all heard about Commander's Erwins upcoming assignment. While I will not be leading you, you all will be under his direct command. Come back in one piece and more than anything, make us look good."

The look of excitement that was on the faces of everyone was something she did not want to kill. They were right to be excited. It was not every day that they would get a chance to work so closely to Commander Erwin. The only thing Alise could do was hope that her squad would not be sacrificed. Commander Erwin had a reason for requesting them and she hated just thinking about it. They were a part of the Corps and thus she could not argue with him. The only thing she had a right to be mad about was the well-being of Tanith.

"I suggest you all get ready. Commander Erwin will be here a little after the sun has gone down. Trust me, you all do not want to make a bad impression with him."

Once she was done talking, her squad dispersed. There was something about standing alone in the kitchen that bothered her. This was not something that she wanted to get use too and she never would. Losing any one else would push her close to the edge again. Death came with the life that she chose to live. While she cared, she could not shut down. She owed it to Xevera and especially to Levi to keep pushing forward.

Long after her squad was gone Alise found herself sitting alone at the table. She could not bring herself to go up to her room, despite how tired she was. Xevera's room and office were up there. Walking by them would only make her feel worse. To ensure that she slept through the night, Alise had decided to finish off the bottle of liquor they had opened the other night. She had been in the middle of pouring a glass when the door suddenly opened.

"Is this how you are going to cope with everything?"

"If you came here to judge me, you can just hobble on back to your own base."

Alise did not bother to look at Levi as she poured herself another glass. With everything that had happened today, she just wanted to drink.

"You can keep drinking or you can talk to me. I am not going anywhere either."

It was not like her words ever chased Levi off. Even though she wanted to drink alone, being around him made her feel a bit better.

"You want me to talk when you keep all of your emotions, for the most part, to yourself."

"There is nothing for me to talk about. Unless you want to talk about my frustration in regards to still being on desk duty. While I am annoyed, I am still doing things that will help me understand what is going on."

"Are you always in control of your emotions?"

"Not always. Right now, I need to understand what is going on and who I can trust."

"The only person I truly trust right now is you. I went to speak with Commander Erwin and for a while everything seemed fine. He pumped by head up with his words and had me thinking I was truly valued. In that same moment he took my squad on some dumb assignment along with Tanith. I know he knows that she likes him. I know how he views our lives, but damn it Tanith is not a part of the Corps. He didn't need to involve her."

"The MP sent support as well, via their captains and a few soldiers."

Alise's eyes grew as she thought about Misun. He was too scared to go out and face any Titan, that was why he chose the Brigade. His fears could not have vanished that quickly.

"Please tell me that Misun was not part of that group."

"His name was on the list."

Out of anger, Alise threw the bottle against the wall. Misun was a coward, he had no right to go beyond the Wall. The fact that he had left caused her to feel angry and hurt. He was her brother by marriage. Family was supposed to talk to each other not just leave without saying a word.

"He could have said goodbye."

"Sometimes goodbye is not the easiest thing to say, especially under these circumstances."

Alise's head hit the table in front of her. She wanted to slam her head down once more, but she lacked the energy. Where Misun was located was far from her base. For him to come her way, it would have caused him to go out of his way.

"Why can't I protect them. I tried to talk Tanith down, but she wouldn't hear it. She said she wanted to step out of my shadow. I am fine with her being a hero, just as long as I am there to protect her."

"Then why are you not out there. Your movement has gotten better and you don't look to be in any pain. I am sure if you go now a doctor would clear you."

Alise allowed her head to turn on the table just so that she could look at Levi.

"If I go then she will never step out of my shadow. I am certain my actions would only make her hate me. It would mean that I think she is incompetent when that is far from the truth. I am sure that if I was built like her, she would have never been in my shadow. While I hate to say it, she was right, behind the Walls is no better than being out there some days."

Alise rubbed the tears away from her eyes and looked towards him.

"As my boyfriend shouldn't you have been encouraging me to follow the Commander's orders."

"Having you reach the desired result without stating it is the best way to convince someone like you. You may want to protect some people, but sometimes the best thing to do is to get out of their way. If I told you that you could not protect everyone then it would have only made you mad."

Alise rolled her eyes at his comment and forced herself to sit up. His intelligence was something that she could not argue with. Despite telling herself that she needed to let go, a bit of her still wanted to hold onto Tanith. After restating what Tanith truly wanted, Alise could not bring herself to go against her friend. The bracelet that clung to her wrist spoke of the promise they had made each other. She had to trust that Tanith would come back.

"How is your leg doing?"

"It is getting there. I am making sure it heals properly by not stressing myself. All of us are not freaks like you and Yeager."

"Since you are in no condition to spar with me, do you think you can help me come up with a training regimen? Training will help keep my mind busy."

"We can train in the evening. I was also told to show you how to fill out reports and file paperwork now that you are captain."

Paperwork. Just saying that word caused Alise to make a face. Being a captain sounded nice, but all the extra work made it bothersome. Xevera had managed to get through it and Alise was certain that she could do the same. Even if she didn't want to, she doubted that Levi would allow her to slack off.

When Levi stood up, Alise pushed herself to feet. The amount of liquor had not gone to her head. It would take a lot more to have some kind of effect on her.

"Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"We both know you won't get any good sleep here. I swear if you drool on my sheets, you will be sleeping on the floor."

Alise grabbed onto Levi's hand and allowed her head to rest against his shoulder. As they walked towards his place a thought entered her mind. She wondered if the reason she liked him was because she truly did not have to protect him. More than anything she wanted to keep him safe, but Levi didn't need her protection. When she snuggled against his arm, she came to realize that the only thing they both really needed from each other was just the warm embrace of each other's arms.


	20. Chapter 20

This place was a complete dump. Zilla did not want to touch anything that passed by her. The vermin down here were worse than the people living behind the Walls. To think she almost missed this hidden gem because she was busy picking on the few stragglers up top. It was easy to kill up there because of the lack of security. The pest that had tried to stop her were quickly taken down. As she had walked around looking for her next victim, she found these stairs and just had to explore. Walking down those stairs was like descending into chaos. The vermin down here lived by their own rules. They did as they saw fit and it seemed like no law was enforced. This was her type of place. It would have been a lot better if they would have cleaned up a bit more. The smell in certain areas caused her stomach to turn.

Zilla did not have time to deal with her stomach or her thoughts. The only thing that mattered to her was getting stronger. She had to get stronger so that she could face that woman again. It was hard to believe that there was another one out there. How could there be another savior when it was supposed to just be six of them. After torturing one of the guards on the surface, she learned that the cursed woman's name as Alise. Alise had a sister named Xevera, but that woman was dead. A weak sister was never a good sign. It was a good thing she died because that meant that there was not eight of them. No one that weak would ever be considered a savior of Marley. On top of that it appeared that Alise had decided to stay in the company of something named Levi. Levi did not matter to her, he was a pest that would be exterminated in time.

While she did not want to believe it herself, the sapphire color that she had seen spoke volumes. If she could write back to the others, she wondered what they would tell her. Surely if she brought Alise back home then they would shower her in praise. Look over the little incident that she caused and place her in a true position of power. One where Zeke would surely have to lick the dirt off of her boots. If Alise did not want to come willingly, then Zilla could always kill her. Killing someone like Alise was tricky. She had no idea as to what triggered her or even fueled her.

As she banged her head on the wall, Zilla began to recall the fight that she had gotten into. She was winning up until that stupid eye glass wearing maggot showed up. Alise had fought rather hard to protect her. Every time that she tried to go near that thing, Alise pulled her back. What bothered her most was the fact that Alise had mustered up enough strength to break her precious blades. Damaged weapons made her feel weak. While she continued to bang her head it dawned on her what she was dealing with. At the same time, Zilla felt like it could not be true. The protector or guardian of Marley had been a myth. The scientist said that it could not be created and that no one had been strong enough to survive the treatment. What if someone had been strong enough? That would place Alise above their current leader. To bring her back home would mean that Zilla was better than their current leader.

She had no problems with their leader, but she did think the woman's thoughts were slightly corrupted. The fact that she favored Zeke bothered Zilla. How could anyone favor those creatures? More importantly how could their leader view Zeke to be on their level. Maybe this was a good thing that she had been sent to this forsaken place. She would bring back their rightful leader or kill her. Either way truly worked for her. Killing Alise would surely strengthen her and that strength could be used to her advantage.

"Don't move. You are under arrest."

Zilla turned her head rather lazily to look at the insects that dared to speak to her. She had practically forgotten that she had just slaughtered a few pigs. These guards could call them humans, but she knew the truth. The fact that they were pointing guns at her caused her mood to change. She was in such a good mood because of her discovery, but now she was not. Since they had ruined her mood, she was going to make them pay.

"Drop the weapon."

The female's shaky voice caused Zilla to smile at her. The thing was actually trying to give orders despite being scared. It was cute in a way that encouraged her to want to harm them.

"Well I cannot drop my weapons. As you see, this is rather important to me and I would hate to get it dirty."

"This is your final warning."

The male had some authority in his voice, but it was nothing compared to Zeke. It was as if this male was trying to intimidate by sounding tough. A few cuts would surely cause his demeanor to change. The thing might even beg her for forgiveness. The only way to find that out was by putting it to the test. When the two moved to fire, Zilla moved out of the way quickly. She could tell that her speed had caught them off guard. When she sliced into their guns, the look of horror on their faces made her smile. If she would have had her second claw, she would have been able to kill them a lot faster. Thanks to Alise, their deaths were going to be dragged out. The first person to feel her wrath was the female.

Zilla did not stop attacking the creature until her blades touched the ground. There were torn pieces of the female everywhere. Permanently frozen on her face was this pure look of agony. While she had been having fun, the male had actually taken off. Something like that was not going to be tolerated, especially since she had not told him to run. If she wanted the thrill of the hunt, then she would have allowed both of them to run. She was not in the mood to hunt and was going to make him pay for having her chasing him. As she jumped across the roofs, Zilla spotted the man trying to reach the stairs. Just as it looked as if he would make it, Zilla pounced on him.

"Wait!"

"Please don't beg for your life, it ruins everything that we have built together."

Zilla had gotten ready to strike again, only to feel him grab onto her wrist. Despite his build, his grip was rather weak. It upset her to know that killing these creatures would never be any fun. To know that his filth was getting onto her precious skin caused her blood to boil.

"I can help you. I can do whatever you want. Everyone is looking for you if you return to Mitras. In the Underground you are safe and can do as you please."

"You are telling me things that I already know."

"Is there no one that you want brought down to you? Nothing that you truly desire?"

Seeing this creature cry was disturbing. As she thought about slicing into his face, she recalled that there was something that she wanted. More than anything she wanted to face Alise again. With the attention she had drawn to herself, she was certain that it would not be easy. If her actions messed up Zeke's plans, she would never hear the end of it. It was best to use her brain on this one.

"Bring me Alise. If you fail, I will return to Mitras and eradicate your precious home."

Zilla climbed from off of him and kicked him in his side to get him moving. There was a lot that needed to be done to prepare for her run in with Alise. To ensure that she was in her best shape, Zilla turned her attention back on the hogs around her. Their deaths would be for a greater purpose. Before she killed any of them, she was going to need to get some food in her system. While she thought lowly of this place, she had smelled something rather delicious.

Alise had heard about the reports that came in from Mitras. Apparently, some mysterious figure was going around killing people. The MP had sworn that they were going to get to the bottom of it. It was a bunch of crap in her mind. The MP actually being good at something was a complete joke. Two days after the first report, the newspapers circulated the face of this mysterious killer. It was a boy from the Underground. He didn't look to be older than sixteen and it was hard to believe that he had done all of those killings. She was in no position to argue with the facts that had been laid out. Even if she wanted to argue, Levi was not giving her any breaks.

Levi was taking the matter of training rather seriously. This was something that she should have seen coming, especially after all the physical training they did together in the past. He took his job seriously and she was going to have to do the same. Despite finding it very hard to focus when he gave her certain looks. She was certain that he was not doing it on purpose, but it was still rather adorable in her opinion. Adorable was not going to get her through this report. It did not help that her first report had to be about Xevera's death. Commander Erwin wanted an accurate report about everything that happened. While some of it was blurry, she still had to spell it all out.

It did not help that Levi tore up more than three of her reports. He didn't like the wording that she used. She had been too vague in some areas and misused certain terms. Terminology was not something that she was used to. Xevera handled all of the reports. The ones that she did write, she was certain that Xevera corrected all of her mistakes. Living in Xevera's shadow in this regard had hurt her more than she wanted to admit. After having her reports torn up multiple times, Alise felt that she had actually gotten things correct.

Before she left her temporary desk, Alise read over the report again. She had made the corrections that Levi mentioned. She was certain that she used the correct words and she knew that nothing had been left out. Even if it painted her in a bad light, everything was included in the report. While she said she did great, she still felt nervous. In the end, Levi was the one who got the final say. If he did not like it, then she was going to have to start all over again. That was something that she did not want. She understood that filing bad reports would cost them. She knew that the MP was looking for any excuse to come after them. While she was aware of everything, Alise just truly wanted to be done with this report.

As she walked towards Levi's office, Alise forced herself to swallow the lump of air that had built up in her throat. She placed the papers down on his desk and watched as he looked them over. At this moment he was not her boyfriend. She looked at Levi as if he was Captain of the Special Operations Squad. A man that was well qualified to tell her to start over despite not wanting to. The fact that he had not stopped right away told her that she had done better than the last time. The first time he read her word, he insulted her after reading the first line. He even made her take books so that she knew what words to use. Being pampered was not something that would be given to her, not while they were working.

"A few sections are better than before. Your penmanship leaves room for improvement, but that is a matter for another day. In all, it is better than the last one you gave me."

Alise had managed to improve and at the same time she had not. Not everyone could write as neatly as Levi.

"My fingers are tired of writing, that is the only reason it looks like that. Besides not all of us can write the way you do. Do you want me to start over then?"

Why she had made such a remark was beyond her knowledge, but starting over was the last thing she wanted to do. The idea of writing any more was going to drive her crazy. Her fingers hurt and her back was stiff from sitting up in that chair.

"Up to you, I said it was fine. Nothing will ever be perfect."

"Not unless you do it."

"Nope there are minor errors despite what you may think."

It was hard to believe that he made any mistakes. Then again, it could just be here placing him on a high pedestal. He was Humanity's Strongest Soldier and someone like that just sounded flawless. His injury was a reminder that nothing was perfect and thus he could make mistakes as well. Even though from what he had told her when they talked at night, his injury was not completely his fault.

The fact that she did not have to start over was fine with her. Alise wanted to do other things. She had put off physical training because of this report. Before another was thrown at her, she was going to make it her goal to push her body to the limit. There was a lot that she did not know about herself. The only way to find out was through training. Besides, training would keep her mind from worrying about the people that were facing the Titans with Commander Erwin.

While she could have darted off, Alise moved behind Levi's chair and began to massage his shoulders. It came as no surprise that he was still rather tense. It was not like he actually went to people to get massages. As his girlfriend she took it upon herself to ensure that he stayed in good shape. Even when he didn't want it, she massaged his injured leg and would apply mild pressure to see how he responded. Today was not about his legs, instead she focused on his shoulders.

"What are you working on today?"

"Nothing important, just some stuff that Erwin left for me to look over."

"He tends to always leave you a lot of work when he is not around."

She had offered to help him in the past, but he had turned down her help. The fact that she could not use correct terminology and other things played into the factor. Instead of getting mad, she took it as a good sign. Less work for her to do in the office. When he needed a distraction, she was more than willing to help him out.

"Did you want to do some light training possibly tomorrow? Don't tell me you cannot because I saw you go out late last night."

The fact that he had not invited her did not bother her. She had a feeling that he had done so because she had not finished her report. The last time she did physical training she had complained of being tired. In a sense she had brought this all on herself. With her being done, they could now train together, and she could kick his butt. While she wanted to go all in, Alise knew better than to hurt him. Levi did not like being behind a desk and she could tell just by looking at his body language.

"Tomorrow sounds good. Try concentrating on another area, you keep massaging the same place."

"Bossy little tyrant."

"Did you say something pipsqueak?"

Alise tried gripping his shoulder with a lot of pressure. All the writing that she had done made her attempt rather weak. The chuckle that escaped him made her want to pop him upside his head. Instead of doing anything, she moved her hands and continued her massage. After a while, the sound of her stomach growling, told her that she needed to cook them something. When Xevera was around, she used to complain about cooking. Now that she had Levi, she did not mind feeding him. It felt good to know that he enjoyed her cooking.

"What is that you want to eat tonight?"

"Surprise me."

"Me on the table, got it."

"Another untouched dish then."

Alise glared at the back of his skull. After she disobeyed his words, Levi had not touched her. She could see in his eyes that he wanted to, but he would not. He would hold her close at night and if she tried doing anything suggestive, he would push her away. This type of hell was killing her. If he didn't want her to touch herself, then he could have stopped her. The bastard sat there and watched. When she was done, he even licked her fingers. All signs pointed to him enjoying the show. His actions right then were rather cold.

To test the water, Alise began to kiss his neck. She remembered how he responded the other night. While her lips moved against his neck, her hands began to travel lower. He had not moaned, but his body was welcoming her presence. Just when her hands neared his waist, she felt Levi grab onto her hands.

"Alise you are only going to drive yourself crazy if you keep this up. You are still on punishment, so I suggest you stop."

From the way he spoke, Alise could tell that he was not joking. While she wanted to test the waters, she had done that in the past and it had gotten her here. Instead of continuing, Alise pulled her hands away and planted a light kiss on his cheek.

"One of these days I am going to break you. For now, I will get started on dinner and bring you a fresh cup of tea."

After replacing his tea, Alise began to look around for anything to cook. She had not realized that they were running low on things until she had to scrap most of the ideas that popped into her mind. This was not going to do. How he managed to live like this was beyond her knowledge. Things were going to change now that she was around. Once she informed him where she was going, Alise took her leave. In her mind she went over the checklist of everything that would be needed. He was running low on tea along with many other ingredients. Out of everything on her list, she was certain Levi would never run completely out of tea. Everything else was a possibility, but tea never was.

Thankfully she knew a few people that ran the local stores. At one point she was certain they would have chased her out of their stores. After turning her life around, some people welcomed her. Some were families who lost their loved ones. The letters that their kids had sent them had warmed their hearts. That much she was rather grateful for. With her bags full of food, Alise began walking home, only to have a man cut her off. His uniform told her that he was part of the MP. While normally she would have ignored him, the fact that Misun was out there facing Titans stopped her.

"Did something happen to Misun?"

"Misun is doing well. I have been sent to retrieve you because your presence is needed elsewhere."

"What do you all want this time? If it is not about Misun, then we really don't have anything to talk about."

Alise almost dropped her bags when he grabbed onto her arm. The look in his eyes told her that he was rather desperate.

"No is not an option I am afraid."

"Oh? What are you going to do if I refuse, arrest me?"

"If it means saving Mitras then I will."

"What are you talking about?"

"I will explain once we leave. If you try to run, I will do everything in my power to stop you."

This man was not a threat. He talked tough, but the MP was full of weak-minded individuals. While she was certain she could take him on, Alise decided against it. Instead she informed him that the only way she would be going was if she got to drop off her supplies. Rather reluctantly he allowed her to do just that. No sooner had she placed the bags down, Levi walked into the kitchen.

"What is going on?"

"It seems my presence is requested in Mitras. I should be back before you fall asleep."

"You really must have lost your mind if you think I am going to allow you to go to Mitras alone. Nothing but a bunch of corrupt pampered pigs there."

"Don't you have work that needs to be done."

"It can wait until we get back."

Arguing with him would have proven pointless and would have been a waste of energy. Besides having him at her side made her feel rather safe. While the man did not want Levi to come, he quickly changed his mind when Levi got his hands on him. It was amazing how persuasive Levi could be with a bit of force.

As the group moved toward Mitras, Alise wondered who could have wanted to see her. Commander Erwin certainly did not share anything and Hange was the same way. While she should have been badgering him for an explanation, Alise had fallen into her own thoughts. She began to worry that maybe someone had said something. She feared what the government would do to her. The idea of being taken away from Levi troubled her more than anything.

When they suddenly stopped at the entrance to the Underground, Alise pushed the fears out of her mind. It had been a long time since she stepped near this entrance. As a child, she had thought that they would be better off in the Underground, but she was proven wrong rather quickly.

"Come along, we cannot keep her waiting for long."

"Her? Who are you talking about?"

"Alise I don't like this. We could be walking into a trap and we are not dressed to handle any bad situation."

"I agree with you. We don't have much of an option and with Erwin away, I am sure the MP can find a reason to give us hell. Despite what my gut says, let's go along with it. At the first sign of trouble, we make a break for it."

Alise could tell that Levi did not like her plan. She barely liked her own plan. Anyone with common sense would have turned around and left. At the same time, they were in the capital and the MP were still on edge from all of the killings. To ensure that not fuse was blown, Alise decided to see what was going on. The fact that he had a gun on him made her feel a bit better.

As they descended the stairs, Alise got a bad feeling in her stomach. This place was not her home and she felt out of her element. From the way the soldier was acting, she needed to see what was going on. Things seemed normal, up until they turned a corner and a terrible scent hit her nose. Her time beyond the Wall told her exactly what that smell was. Seeing dead bodies lying all around did not make her feel any better. The deeper they went the worse the smell became. It got to a point that Alise was forced to cover her nose.

Instead of stopping, the group continued to move until they reached a pub. The smell was not as bad inside the establishment. Despite the blood that stained the walls and the tables, there were no bodies around. The only living soul belonged to the woman that Alise never wished to see again. The lighting allowed her to see the features of her enemy. To ensure that nothing happened to Levi, Alise stepped in front of him. She knew that he would not like what she did, but that did not matter to her.

"Soldier have you lost your mind. What is the meaning of this?"

Alise did not hide the anger in her voice when she spoke to the man. Instead of him talking, Zilla spoke up.

"You can be gone now. I expect for you to bring me a few more bodies in the morning. These ones down here are rather predictable."

Out of the corner of her eye, Alise noticed that Levi had pulled his gun out. She motioned with her hand for him to lower it. They were in more trouble than he could ever imagine. While she was worried, Zilla seemed to be highly amused by what she saw.

"Are you going to shoot me? I promise I won't move if you make it hurt. Then again, I prefer to have your blood all over me."

"You are more than welcome to try."

The fact that Zilla had moved slightly had not gone unnoticed by either of them.

"Don't you dare come near him. Tell me what you want Zilla."

Zilla removed her feet from off of the table and motioned for the two to sit across from her. She waited patiently until they made their move. The fact that Levi continued to point a gun at her, only caused her smile to grow. Once they were seated, Zilla decided it was best to say what was on her mind.

"It is rather impolite to point a gun at a lady."

"I don't see a lady."

"Harsh words from the tiny insect. Well I don't expect much from people like you. After all, you are beneath me. You, Alise, are not. Or well, you don't have to be."

"What are you talking about?"

"I want to tell you so many things, but his ears are not worthy of it."

"If his ears are not worthy of it, then mine are not either. Either you tell me why I had to come here, or I am leaving."

"It is cute that you think you have an option to leave. I decide who stays and who goes. Since I am in a good mood, I suppose that I will play nicely."

"Talk then Zilla."

Alise was growing impatient with each passing breath. She hated the odor that was flowing around them. How anyone could function in these conditions was beyond her knowledge. The calm look on Levi's face told her that he was in control despite their environment. Levi's calm demeanor kept Alise from losing her mind.

"I have a theory going in my head that you are someone of importance. If you are who I think that you are, then it is important that you come with me. Before I make such a bold request, I need to know something. How was it that Xevera died? Was she consumed by a Titan?"

Her sister had nothing to do with this conversation. While she wanted to keep her mouth closed, she also wanted to know what was going through Zilla's mind.

"Loss of blood."

"Did she have any interesting talents? Ones that were freaky so to say."

"She was a regular person, like everyone else in my life."

"That is a real shame. In regard to your sister, I suppose that I was right."

"Right about what?"

Instead of being given an answer, the table was suddenly flipped and they both fell out of their chair. Before Zilla could make her move, Levi shot her in leg causing her to let out an animal like sound. Alise had tried to move towards Levi, only to see Zilla jump onto him. Levi was not weak and when she drew back to hurt him, she found herself being knocked off of him. The fact that this rodent had hurt her twice only added to her anger. Zilla was supposed to be untouchable. To be touched by such filth was unacceptable.

Zilla's whip wrapped around Levi's gun and she pulled it away from him. As Alise tried to attack her, she kicked the woman in her chest. Her eyes began to take on a crimson look and she charged directly at Levi. He was faster than the others. From the way he was moving, she noticed that something was not right. He was keeping pressure off one of his legs and Zilla saw that as an opportunity. When he went to strike at her, she dodged out of the way and kicked him in his injured leg. The grimace that ran across his face was cute. She would have enjoyed it longer had it not been for Alise punching her.

"Rather protective of each other. It is admirable, but it won't keep you all alive."

Zilla was getting ready to attack again when suddenly a bottle was thrown at her. She had barely managed to get out of the way and noticed the two moving out of the pub. If they wanted her to chase them, she was all for it.

Alise looked towards Levi and noticed that he was limping. His leg had not fully healed and Zilla had dared to hurt him. This was her fault. If she would never have gone down here, none of this would be happening. While she thought highly of Levi, he was not invincible. He could be hurt like everyone else and she could not risk losing him.

"Stay here. I am going to lure her away. When the coast is clear, run for the stairs."

"I don't run from a fight."

"Levi you are not in a condition to fight. There was a reason why Erwin placed you on desk duty. I am not asking you; I am telling you to run for the stairs. I will be right behind you."

Alise did not bother to stay near him and took off running in the opposite direction. As she rounded the corner, Zilla came flying into her. She had barely dodged Zilla's claw and looked as the blades struck the dirt beside her head.

"A cat with one claw, how scary."

Taunting was something that she could help but to do. The look on Zilla's face told her that she had struck a nerve. Instead of allowing Zilla a chance to strike her back, Alise pushed her off of her and began to move. No sooner had she gotten to her feet, she felt a whip wrap around her and pull her down.

"I might not have any claws, but I have a lot of other toys. Tell me Alise, is this truly the best you have to offer. How can someone like you protect those that you love? Or do you not care about the people around you? Should I make you watch as I rip out his guts or do you want to miss that moment?"

Alise brought her arm up in time to prevent the blade from cutting her. In the process, she felt her skin being ripped into. The blood had started to flow and she noticed that Zilla's eyes were changing from a crimson color to more of a ruby color.

"What the hell are you?"

"I am the embodiment of wrath. Your blood satisfies my anger and keeps me in a calm state of mind. At the same time, it empowers me in a way that you will never understand. I thought you were something more, but I see I was gravely mistaken."

Alise tried to get Zilla away from her, but the woman was moving faster than normal. The only thing she could do was brace herself for impact when Zilla flung her across the ground. She heard every taunt that the woman made. The fact that she was weak meant nothing, but the idea of losing Levi pissed her off. If she had been training instead of sitting behind a desk, then none of this would be happening. As Zilla went to kick her again, Alise grabbed onto her leg and twisted it. Her hand went to find the wound that Levi's gun inflicted, but it was gone.

"You're not the only one that recover quickly."

Zilla had gone to kick Alise in the face, only to have Alise move out of the way. As Zilla got to her feet, she failed to notice the figure that came rushing towards her. The impact from Levi's kick sent her flying into the window of a nearby building. With Zilla out of the way, Levi landed and moved towards Alise.

"Where did you find that gear?"

"I still have connections down here. Like I said, I don't run from a fight."

Alise could only smile at him when she said those words. She should have known that Levi was never down and out. Before she could get comfortable, Zilla was on the attack again.

"How about we take her down together then. You attack from above and I will work from the ground."

Once Levi had moved up again, Alise noticed that Zilla was trying to go after him. Whenever she tried to grab at Levi, Alise was there to stop her. During the fight she managed to break one of the blades in Zilla's claw. Instead of throwing it away, she used it like it was a dagger. Attacking Zilla did not mean anything to her. Levi was not letting up either. The two of them together were a force that no one can stand against. Just as things seemed to be turning in their favor, Zilla suddenly turned the table. Levi had moved in for another attack, only for Zilla to roll out of the way. As she dodged, she aimed for his side, only to cut into his line. Levi had managed to land on his feet, but the impact caused him to stumble slightly.

Alise noticed what Zilla was up to. Before the woman could attack Levi, Alise jumped in the way. She turned in time to grab onto the woman's wrist. When she grabbed her, the sound of bones breaking filled the air along with Zilla's screams. Alise was not done with her. The fact that she dared to attack Levi was unforgivable in her eyes. She would make Zilla fear the day that she came to this place.

A well-placed stomp was all Alise needed to shatter the remaining claws on Zilla's weapons. When she was done with her claws, Alise began to unleash all of her pint up anger on Zilla. The blood flowing from Zilla did not bother her. This woman had slaughtered more people than she cared to count. When she was done beating her, she placed her foot on the woman's throat.

"Any last words."

"The sapphire eyes of the guardian are truly beautiful to look upon."

Alise was about to bring her foot down when a gunshot stopped her. Her eyes moved towards the source and she noticed that the man from earlier had returned with fellow officers from the Military Police.

"Back away Alise. That woman is under arrest and the government has asked for her to be kept alive."

"Who would give such a stupid order."

Levi did not hide his displeased tone. His attitude was only made worse when the man decided to ignore him. Instead of putting up a fight, Alise moved away and allowed the Military Police to pull Zilla away. Zilla looked more dead than alive and that was all that mattered to Alise. If that man thought he was going to get away with his actions in the murders that Zilla performed, he was dead wrong. For the time being, she allowed Levi to hold her while she thought about her next course of action.

"You know this new eye color is rather attractive."

Levi's comment caused her to chuckle. While the others moved around them, she buried her face in his arms. She did not want anyone seeing her like this. With Levi holding her, she doubted that anyone would mess with her. Together they had made a rather good team. If they were going to be untouchable, then they would need to do a bit more training together. The thoughts of training with him tomorrow silenced the fears that had crept up into her mind.


End file.
